After Supreme Court order, KMC to launch ward-wise rabies vaccination camps for stray dogs by roping in vets

Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will conduct rabies vaccination of stray dogs by hosting camps in every ward by roping in veterinary doctors on case-to-case basis to overcome the shortage of full-time vets.

The move comes in the wake of a recent order of the Supreme Court directing all states and Union Territories to “forthwith” remove stray dogs from the premises of educational institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, bus stands and depots and Railway stations, and relocate them “to a designated shelter” after due sterilisation and vaccination in accordance with the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, framed under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.

“We held a meeting of the public safety wing of the KMC on Tuesday and we have decided to set up an eco-friendly dog pound in the empty wetland beside Dhapa where over 4,000 dogs can be kept. The existing Dhapa dog pound will be shifted once we develop the infrastructure of this new one,” said Atin Ghosh, who heads the Health department of the KMC.

The state Animal Resources Development (ARD) has already held a meeting in presence of officials from KMC’s Health wing and they will come up with a modus operandi about sterilisation of stray dogs.

According to Ghosh, KMC conducts sterilisation of stray dogs on a regular basis for the last few years from 2-3 anti-rabies centre located in each of the 144 wards. However, lack of veterinary officers has been hampering the drive . Presently there are 5 such vacancies. “We will soon seek the nod of the state for recruiting veterinary officers on contractual basis to speed up sterilisation of stray dogs.”

Ghosh maintained that instances of dog bites in Kolkata are less than most other cities in the country and there are 18 vaccination centres where free vaccine is provided if someone gets bitten by a dog.