Bhubaneswar: Over 600 stray dogs were administered anti-rabies vaccine in a special drive across nine institutional premises on World Veterinary Day, Saturday. The total number of stray dogs vaccinated under the anti-rabies mission in the past 25 days (since March 30) has crossed 10,000, according to Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials.
Coordinated Vaccination Effort
The effort was well coordinated to ensure that dogs living in and around institutional premises received timely vaccination. BMC officials noted that they have taken note of places where stray dogs frequently interact with students, staff, patients, and visitors. The anti-rabies mission is continuing in other parts of the city as teams work to expand coverage, said Debi Prasad Kund, in charge of the animal birth control (ABC) programme of BMC.
Vaccination Process
Dogs are caught using nets at their roaming spots, vaccinated, and then released. Some friendly dogs are also caught by hand and vaccinated. They are not relocated to other places. Kund explained that the drive is preferably conducted early in the morning. Each vaccinated dog is tagged using a non-toxic biological marker to make them easily recognisable when they mingle with other dogs. This tagging helps prevent repetitive catching.
Nandankanan Zoo Celebrates World Veterinary Day
In another development, Nandankanan Zoo celebrated World Veterinary Day in line with the global theme, “Veterinarians: Guardians of Food and Health.” Veterinary personnel were felicitated for their service.
