The Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) has urged all the RWAs (residents’ welfare associations) to get their society dogs sterilised and vaccinated instead of raising requests on its helpline for getting the strays removed. It further said that neither the civic body nor any RWA has the power to relocate or remove stray dogs from its housing society as per the law of the land,”
The Animal Welfare Board of India’s secretary Sujit Dutta has told that action would be taken against any RWA or its president if they try to remove any stray dog from their housing societies or provoke others to harass any animal feeder.
The step taken by the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon is a step towards replacing the complaint centric ABC program to participative ABC program. But there are other things which the corporation needs to do like issuing guidelines as to how the RWAs can get the dogs stereilized and immunized:
Given below are few points which the corporation might think of incorporating:
1 Inform the RWAs about the ABC centre they need to contact for getting the dogs sterilized and immunized in their area.
2 Notching of one ear of the dog is the identification mark of a dog being sterilized. So the RWAs and the caregivers need to identify the unsterilized dogs of their area.
3 RWAs should seek the help of caregivers to catch the dogs for sterilization and immunization as the dogs would only allow their caregivers to touch them and hold them. This will make the implementation of the ABC program smooth and hassle free.
4 Pregnant, sick and very old dogs not to be taken for sterilization.
5 lactating mothers should not be picked up for sterilization till their puppies are at least three months old.
6 Small puppies should not be picked up for sterilization till they are atleast seven months old.
7 The dogs should be healthy and well nourished and for that they need to be fed daily and kept in a friendly atmosphere. This will not only reduce dog bites but also encourage peaceful coexistence between humans and dogs.
8 Hold annual dog vaccination drive in their area with the support of the ABC centre and the Municipal corporation.
28th Sept is the world rabies day. Rabies is a 100 percent fatal disease and unfortunately this is spread to humans mostly through dogs. Hence, WHO is targeting to make the world canine rabies free by 2030.
According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) "Rabies is still present in many parts of the United States, where it is mostly found in wildlife. Because of high vaccination levels in dogs and cats in the U.S., rabies in pets or other domesticated animals is relatively rare. The best way to protect yourself, your family, and your pets is to keep dogs and cats up to date on their rabies vaccinations. While rabies is a 100% preventable disease, nearly 60,000 people die from the disease around the world each year.
https://www.cdc.gov/worldrabiesday/index.html
It is said that prevention is better than cure. The only way to prevent rabies is by getting the dogs and cats immunized on a regular basis.
But unfortunately the Indian Govt, state govts and the municipal corporations have never focused on the prevention of rabies. They have been broadcasting entirely a different narrative. No wonder Kerala is making their state canine free and if caregivers were not bold enough then by now the whole of India would have become canine free. And for this it is solely our govt bodies which are responsible. They have injected fear and hatred for dogs in the minds of common man of India.
The latest tweet (Pic in the post) by the Dept of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Min of FAH&D
@Dept_of_AHD has yet again infused venom for the man's best friend. Both in text as well as in Pic. This is what they wrote;
"#Rabies causes 1 death, every 9 minutes. Keep this fatal disease at bay by getting the Anti-Rabies shot after an animal bite. #WorldRabiesDay #ZeroDeathsBy2030 #OneHealth"
https://twitter.com/Dept_of_AHD/status/1574292067958034433?s=20&t=S178R0Fvy2Q0wHSC_C45qw
Well this tweet no where talks about dog vaccination and the pic they have showed yet again shows their intent. After seeing this Pic who will like to keep dogs as pets? Who will like to feed him? Who will allow their children to play with him to? If today Kerala and other parts of India are killing dogs and relocating them its primarily because of the fault of our govt Veterinary depts. They have painted the dogs of India as rabid. They are not to be loved but loathed and feared.
Wonder how long will they keep infusing venom in the minds of the citizens of India against the man's best friend?
Every life is precious: be it human or animal. No human should die due to canine rabies and for that India has to ensure that every pet dog and community dog is vaccinated every year.