Nineteen stray dogs were caught in Karumkulam grama panchayat on Thursday as part of a two-week drive under the aegis of the Kudumbasree District Mission. The drive comes in the wake of the death of a 48-year-old fisherman at Pulluvila in the panchayat after being mauled by a pack of stray dogs on Sunday. A 65-year-old woman was also mauled to death by dogs in the same locality August last.
Minister for Local Self-governments K.T. Jaleel had entrusted the Kudumbasree District Mission with the task of catching and sterilising dogs as per Animal Birth Control (ABC) norms at a meeting on Tuesday.
The Kudumbasree District Mission has at present 38 trained dog-catchers, mostly women, and three veterinary doctors.
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The units will get ₹2,100 for each dog caught, sterilised, and released back in the same locality. The dogs caught will be sterilised at the veterinary hospitals at Neyyattinkara and Kattakada, and the one in the panchayat. As many as 25 dogs are expected to be sterilised in a day.
Adoption too
The mission is also working for adoption of the sterilised animals. Many people have come forward to adopt the dogs, mission officials say. The animals will be sterilised, given anti-rabies vaccination, dewormed, and dropped off at the house of those who adopt them.
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After Karumkulam, the drive will be expanded to the neighbouring Poovar, Kottukal, and Kanjiramkulam panchayats, District Kudumbasree Mission coordinator Shaiju S. said.
In September last year, Kudumbasree decided to train its self-help group members in dog-catching in the wake of the serious stray dog menace in the State.
The pilot scheme was implemented in four blocks in Ernakulam district, and later expanded to Alappuzha.
The members of the five-member units, after a three-day training, are given identity card, uniform, and certificate.