Visakhapatnam: GVMC officials on alert after four-year-old boy mauled to death by stray dogs in Hyderabad

Dog catching teams sent to various zone to complete sterilisation and also check whether the animals are rabies-free, says Chief Veterinary Officer

The officials from the Veterinary Department of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) are on alert after the recent incident of a four-year-old boy being mauled to death by a street dog in Hyderabad. The GVMC has deployed its dog catching teams to complete the sterilisation of the canines and also check whether the animals are rabies-free.

Soon after the Hyderabad incident, seven dog catching teams, with the help of a private agency, are catching dogs in various zones. As per the department, there are over one lakh stray dogs in all the eight zones. Of them, birth control surgeries were already performed on nearly 89,000 dogs.

“No untoward incidents (deaths due to dog attacks) have been reported so far in the city in the last few years. Nearly 90% of dogs were sterilised and we are also taking care that they do not have infections which could affect people,” said Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) N. Kishore.

The department can sterilise 35 to 40 dogs in a day. So we are taking the help of the Animal Husbandry Department and also private staff to complete the work on a war-footing, he said. After surgeries, the animals would be under observation for four days. Later proper medication would be provided, if there are any symptoms of rabies, Dr. Kishore added.

As per the officials, generally the GVMC do not receive complaints on cases of dog attacks. But people contact them seeking to relocate the dogs, which could not be done as per animal rights.

Despite being the biggest corporation in the State, the GVMC do not have a dedicated toll-free number to complain on animal issues. The officials said that people can contact the nearest Ward Secretariat in case of any stray dog menace in their locality.

Compared to dog menace, residents of Visakhapatnam are bothered by pig menace. There were incidents of pigs entering houses for food, attacking bikers, entering schools and attacking children at several places leaving many people with injuries. Places like Pendurthi, Gopalapatnam Madhurawada and Gnanapuram used to report most number of complaints among other areas. Taking the menace on a serious note, the GVMC has prepared an action plan a few months ago and has relocated thousands of pigs.