Thiruvananthapuram: The stray dogs being vaccinated against rabies will now sport green tags on their necks, instead of the black marking used so far, for easy identification.
The decision to spray-paint with green colour was taken after it was pointed out that the black canines in the state are far higher in number, and that the same has rendered their identification a difficult task.
The green-colour marking will also last at least a month, according to the assessment of the authorities.
The change in colour was suggested by the animal welfare organisation ‘Mission Rabies’ ahead of a comprehensive ‘Rabies Control Programme’ to be implemented in the state from September 1 to 30. Both street and pet dogs will be administered with the anti-rabies vaccination.
The vaccines have already been distributed to all districts.
The local bodies will meet the expense of spray painting. The Animal Husbandry Department will extend the services of Live Stock Inspectors for vaccinating the dogs during the special drive to be held with the technical cooperation of ‘Mission Rabies’.
Meanwhile, Kudumbashree has submitted a list of 1450 dog catchers to the Animal Husbandry Department for approval. There is no change in the rewards to them this time as well and they will be paid Rs 300 per dog.
10% rise in stray population
There is a 10% rise in the population of stray dogs in the state, according to the Central Animal Husbandry and Dairying Department. Kerala has 2.9 lakh stray dogs and 8.3 lakh pet dogs, according to livestock figures presented by the Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying in the parliament last year.
The Anti-Rabies Vaccination drive held in September last year didn’t yield the desired results. Only 37,000 stray dogs could be vaccinated then, though 5.1 lakh of the total 8.1 lakh pet dogs were administered with the anti-rabies vaccine.
