The district panchayat’s stray dog sterilisation centre at Pappinissery, inaugurated on October 5, is expected to sterilise 10 to 15 stray dogs a day under the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme.
The district panchayat has entered an agreement with the Bengaluru-based Animal Rights Fund (ARF), a non-governmental organisation, for the birth control drive to reduce the population of stray dogs in 71 panchayats, eight municipalities, and the Kannur Corporation in the district.
The sterilisation will be carried out at the Pappinissery centre, which is a provisional facility, until a permanent dog sterilisation centre is constructed in a two-acre plot allotted by the Padiyur panchayat at an estimated cost of Rs.1.75 crore. The district panchayat has already spent Rs.19 lakh for making arrangements at the provisional centre.
Nets to be used
“Sterilisation of dogs will be done as per the Animal Birth Control Act, 2001,” said M.K. Sreejith, former district panchayat secretary, who signed the agreement with the ARF. Under the agreement, dog catchers of the ARF visit targeted areas in the early morning and catch stray dogs using nets. They would be taken to the centre in vehicles and kept in special kennels before sterilisation, he said.
According to the ARF representatives, the sterilisation surgery would take 20 minutes for male dogs and 45 minutes for female dogs. They would then be vaccinated against rabies and kept in the kennels for two or three days before they are released at places where they were caught. Those found to have serious diseases would be subject to euthanasia, they said.
