Mumbai, February 12 Amid growing concerns about dog bites in Maharashtra, a senior Indian Administrative Service official recommended non-invasive surgical procedures, such as transvaginal laparoscopic ovariectomy, to control the animal population, especially that of stray dogs.
Dr. Ramaswami N, a secretary in the state's animal husbandry and dairy development department, said that non-invasive laparoscopic procedures for animal birth control must be adopted to curb the rising population of stray dogs and rabies cases.
"We need to find a technical solution. We could use transvaginal laparoscopic ovariectomy, as laparoscopy is widely used in humans for various diseases, such as pancreatic cancer," Ramaswami said at a national symposium on 'The Role of Dogs in One Health: Building Partnerships and Resolving Challenges' in Nagpur.
He advocated for training more veterinarians in such minimally invasive surgeries.
"Maharashtra has approximately 17 lakh stray dogs, with data available at the ward level, and nearly 9.7 lakh dog bite incidents have been reported. The state contributes significantly to the country's annual rabies toll of 18,000 to 20,000 deaths. More than 60 per cent of rabies fatalities occur among children under 15 years of age," he said.
Ramaswami said that the major issue remains the ineffective implementation of Animal Birth Control (ABC) measures.
"I have analysed the data in all the corporations. It is hardly 2-3 per cent, and in some places it is 8 per cent. With this rate, we cannot control the growth of the stray dogs' population," he said.
Maharashtra, one of the most urbanized states in the country, faces the challenges of population growth, civic amenities, and a large stray animal population. He added that Pune city and its surrounding areas alone account for around four lakh stray dogs.
He said that traditional sterilization surgeries require dogs to be admitted for four to five days, posing logistical challenges for smaller municipalities.
"It is a big task for small municipalities to admit a dog for 4-5 days after surgery in the traditional way. We tried with all mobile units, but it involves a lot of care in the post-operative period for the animal to recover. Compared to that, laparoscopic surgery is a more appropriate alternative, but we need more and more trained surgeons. You just need to train veterinary doctors. It's not rocket science," he said.
Highlighting preventive steps, Ramaswami said that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has approved 29 animal hospitals across all municipal corporations in the state.
Two multi-specialty animal hospitals are being set up, one operational in Pune and another coming up in Goregaon at a cost of Rs 80 crore, he added, his remarks coming against the backdrop of concerns raised in the Winter Session of the Assembly last December.
In a written reply, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had said that Maharashtra recorded more than 30 lakh cases of dog bites in the last six years, while 30 people died of rabies between 2021 and 2023.
Shinde was responding to questions raised by MLAs across party lines over the rising stray dog population in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, and Kalyan-Dombivli, etc. He had said that there has been a significant increase in the number of stray dogs in both rural and urban areas.
Responding to another query, Shinde had said that local bodies were directed to intensify animal birth control and anti-rabies vaccination programmes in accordance with the Supreme Court's directions issued in August.
The Urban Development Department issued instructions to civic bodies on November 14, while similar directions were given to rural local bodies on November 27, he had said.
Shinde had informed the House that Animal Birth Control Rules 2023, are being implemented across the state following government orders issued in March.