Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Mission Rabbies and Worldwide Veterinary Services (WVS) to vaccinate one lakh stray dogs in Mumbai each year.
According to information provided by the civic authority, there were 61,332 dog bite reports in 2021, compared to 78,756 dog bite incidents in 2022. Meanwhile, 53,020 cases were reported for 2020. Despite the fact that the project would begin in September 2023, authorities from the local authority stated that a census of stray dogs will be conducted in January 2024, followed by a massive rabies vaccination campaign in February of that same year. The civic organisation intends to reach the goal of immunising about 1 lakh stray canines within 10 days as part of the campaign.
The experts working with NGOs will visit Mumbai for the dog survey and mission rabies programme. A team of 100 will catch the dogs with their bare hands, while 20 teams will use mesh to control them. We will need 450 to 600 volunteers to vaccinate one lakh stray dogs. So we will approach volunteers from a few more NGOs and colleges. The BMC will provide the vaccine, an awareness campaign, transportation facility, while food, stay and remuneration to the volunteers will be given by WVS, a civic official said.