The vaccine used for immunisation of pets cost Rs 100 per ampoule and was made in France and approved by Indian authorities. Representative Image (Getty Images)A recent article in the Manorama dated March 2, informed us that rabid dogs cause significant losses to the nation with cost of medicines itself touching close to Rs 300 crore.
If the state is made rabies-free, we can save the costs. Is this possible? An example is Ponnani in Malappuram, which became the first city in Asia to be rabies-free in 1993.
The first phase of the programme was taking an animal census within the city limits. Twenty seven volunteers covered 6,018 houses in 13 days to complete the census.
The results showed that in 17 wards, there were only 431 pet dogs. All of them were licensed, immunised and tagged. The owners were given postcards, which they had to post to inform authorities when their pets give birth.
Officials would come to the respective houses and to immunise the dogs then.
The municipality also announced through PA systems that owners had to register their dogs if they had not done so. Once these procedures were completed, processes were initiated to kill non-licensed dogs.
If owners intervened when a dog was identified to be culled, licenses were issued on the spot and those who claimed ownership were allotted the dog for upkeep. About 1,000 dogs were culled and disposed.
Through this procedure, it was ensured that no dog in the city precincts remained unlicensed or unimmunised. The vaccine used for immunisation cost Rs 100 per ampoule and was made in France and approved by Indian authorities. The project cost about Rs 2.5 lakh and was supported by ITC. Junior chamber Ponnani and the municipality also provided monetary support. By the end of the project, minister P K Kunjhalikutty declared Ponnani as Asia's first rabies-free city.
In 1997-98, Thrithala block Panchayat followed suit and was declared as a rabies-free block. About 5,000 street dogs were culled in the exercise. This model can be exercised everywhere in the state provided priority is given to human safety.
(The author was the coordinator of the Rabies-Free Ponnani programme)
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