The data compiled by the State authorities and submitted to the Supreme Court of India by the Siri Jagan Committee has indicated a considerable fall in the number of dog bite cases in the district.
While 4,251 cases were reported in 2013, there was a significant jump in the number in 2014 with 11,446 cases. However, the number came down to 9,864 in 2015. Incidentally, it was during this period that the local body initiated the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme for dogs in the city, which won the appreciation of animal lovers and animal rights campaigners.
No deaths
No instances of death due to animal bites were reported in the district during these years. Along with Kochi, Kozhikode, Kollam, Alappuzha and Thrissur too recorded a significant fall in the number of dog bite cases last year. Buoyed by what she claimed as the success of the Kochi ABC programme, city Mayor Soumini Jain had even offered to help the neighbouring local bodies to tackle the stray dog population. She was also keen on setting up another unit in the city to implement the ABC programme, provided the State funded it.
K.J. Kishore Kumar, the principal investigator of the ABC programme, took a guarded position on the fall in the number of bite cases.
Dr. Kumar said it would take a couple of years more for the city to get a palpable and definite result on the issue. “There is no denial that the ABC programme has left an impact in the animal behaviour in the city. There was positive feedback from the city residents and civic representatives. The data that can be generated after uninterruptedly running the programme will give a clear result,” he said. Neutered dogs would certainly become less aggressive. Dog-keepers of the city should volunteer for neutering their pet dogs as a matter of social etiquette. “If the ABC programme is stopped halfway, the city may slip back to the earlier situation within a few months,” he said.
