A Vechur cow — a rare and protected indigenous cattle breed — was killed by a rabid dog at Poonath near Koottalida in Kottoor panchayat here on Saturday. With this, the number of cows killed by rabid dogs in the panchayat has reached seven.
As panchayat authorities have already expressed their “helplessness” in killing street dogs based on recent orders from the government, disgruntled farmers on Saturday went on with a drive to catch wandering dogs. The drive was initiated by the local people after long weeks of pleas with the panchayat authorities.
The nearby panchayats — Changaroth and Cheruvannur — too had lost over 60 cows in rabid dog attacks last month. Most of the farmers lost their hybrid milch cows, which used to provide them with an additional income.
Paingattu Hassan, who lost the Vechur cow, used to earn Rs.200 for 500 ml of milk. The cow, one of the 12 in his farm, was mauled while grazing in a nearby grass field.
Activist P. Unnikrishnan said the Animal Husbandry Department was turning a deaf ear to the plight of farmers who were desperately in need of compensation. “It is not just rabid dogs, but the rabid foxes from the nearby forest areas too are posing a threat to the farmers in rural areas,” he said.
Rabid dog attack on people too was on the increase in the region with the increasing number of street dogs. Official sources confirmed that no fewer than 350 doses of anti-rabies vaccine were administered on persons from the region, at the Balussery Government Hospital alone.
Kottoor gama panchayat president T.K. Sreedharan said the dairy sector in the region was reeling under a huge crisis as the collection and sale of milk too had come to a stop in several regions. “Even the anti-rabies vaccine was found futile in saving the animals,” he said.
