MC begins birth control and vaccination programme, says MC

Shimla, Oct 23 (UNI) The Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) today announced animal birth control and vaccination programme within the municipal limits to tackle the menace of stray dogs, Commissioner Shekhar Gupta today said.

The programme would be implemented by the stray dogs birth control society, formed by the corporation, Department of Animal Husbandry, Shimla district administration, the Rotary Club and citizens, he said.

Mr Gupta said stray dogs caught by the MC people would first be vaccinated against rabies and later sterlised by surgical interventions and would be released in the areas they were caught from after retaining them for a few days.

The vaccination of the dogs would continue for a period of five years after which the city would be declared rabies free, he said.

He said the whole idea was to cover the entire population of stray dogs in one year besides continuing vaccination of the dogs every year.

It has also been mandatory for pet owners to get their dogs sterlisied and vaccinated during the programme and each dog vaccinated would be given an identification mark, he said.

The SMC Commissioner said before the programme was conceived for Shimla, a team of veterinary doctors and technicians was sent to Jaipur in August for training.

Besides a 11-member MC team was sent to Jaipur in two batches to train them in catching stray dogs, he added.

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