The success of the first Animal Birth Control (ABC) camp held here recently has prompted the officials to vote for more such camps if not a permanent centre to sterilise and vaccinate street dogs in the city.
Over 150 dogs were sterilised and vaccinated during the four-day camp organised with the help of the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University. The target, however, was 200.
But this does not cover even one per cent of the total stray dog population in the city, said implementing officer of the Kozhikode Corporation’s ABC project and veterinary surgeon K.K. Baby.
A permanent ABC centre with proper staff and facility to house the captured animals is necessary since there are many animals to be sterilised and constantly monitored.
A surgery is most effective when it is conducted in the proper ambience.
But with the Corporation not setting aside funds for the ABC project in the new budget and a large section of people at Poolakkadavu, where the Corporation had identified land for the ABC centre, turning against the project, its plight is uncertain.
But Dr. Baby says the public anxiety was baseless, as the sterilisation surgeries are conducted as per protocol.
The success of the first camp has prompted Dr. Baby to think about more of its kind.
