The District Headquarters hospital here administers about 120 Anti Rabies Vaccination (ARV) on an average a day to people coming with dog bites, which resonates the intensity of the stray dog menace in the city.
Census
A census recently carried out by the Corporation Health Officials enumerated the ownerless dog population at 6,236.
“Of them, about 3,000 have been vaccinated so far,” City Health Officer K. R. Jawaharlal told The Hindu .
It means that half the set of dogs remain prone to rabies. Moreover, the stray canine population is growing at a steady pace and the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme being implemented by the Corporation to tackle the menace lacked the requisite vigour owing to functional bottlenecks.
The public seems to be divided when it comes to evolving a permanent solution to the stray dog menace as one section vehemently argues for killing of such dogs while another group feels sterilization can control its multiplication.
P. Somasundaram, secretary of the NGO ‘Tirupur Consumer Voice', had recently written to the Prime Minister seeking reversal of the legislation against killing of dogs. He cited few incidents that took place in the city in which two-wheelers met with fatal accidents after been chased by stray dogs.
Asha Krishnakumar, member of the NGO ‘People for Animals', who also runs two shelter homes for stray dogs in the city, feels sterilization alone could control the stray dog menace.
“Studies have proved that by sterilizing 10 stray dogs, we can easily control the birth of almost 1,000 dogs in a year. Hence, it is our appeal that stray dogs which coexist with the humans should not be killed rather rehabilitated in shelter homes,” she said.
