In an initiative to vaccinate dogs, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has inoculated 26 stray dogs against rabies at Terminal 2 of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in Mumbai on Tuesday, August 22.
BMC carried out the vaccination drive in collaboration with NGO Yoda, Captain India, Zimaxx, and Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL). It is pertinent to note that this initiative was taken at Mumbai airport owing to the large influx of people daily.
Moreover, in a bid to enhance management of them, near-field communication (NFC) tags have also been put around the vaccinated dogs.
It enables the civic officials to identify the location of a dog in case it gets injured or goes missing. Furthermore, they can also include details about their caretakers, making it easier to manage the stray dogs.
Besides, whenever a person scans the NFC tag code, an alert will be sent to BMC’s safety command centre, enabling it to identify an injured or lost dog. The civic body will then connect with the person who scanned the code, to identify who takes care of the dog as well as recognise issues faced by the animal. This system will also facilitate the census of dogs.
According to BMC officials, a similar drive was carried out at the airport’s Terminal 1 in July this year.
Additionally, BMC has also inked a deal with Mission Rabies and Worldwide Veterinary Services (WVS) last month, seeking to vaccinate 1 lakh stray dogs in Mumbai. This development came amid an increase in dog bite cases.
While the mass drive was slated to commence in February 2023, BMC officials said that a mini-pulse vaccination drive will also be carried out, seeking to vaccinate 15,000 stray dogs on World Rabies Day, which falls on September 28 every year.
BMC data showed that 78,756 dog bite cases were registered in 2022, 61,332 in 2021, and 53,020 in 2020.
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