Scattered incidents of dogs getting infected with rabies in Chennai has caused concern among activists on rising stray dog menace and poor implementation of Animal Birth Control (ABC) across Tamil Nadu.
Shruti Vinod Raj, member of the Tamil Nadu Animal Welfare Board (TNAWB), says the board received at least four complaints of rabies in the last few weeks. “Two weeks back, a chippiparai suspected of rabies was dropped off at a shelter and the dog bit the owner, jumped out of the cage and bit about ten other dogs in the shelter and died,” adds Ms. Raj. With a clenched jaw and excessive drooling, the dog showed signs of rabies.
In August, a rabid stray dog reportedly attacked three residents of a gated community in Porur. The incident caused panic among residents, most of whom wanted the dozens of stray dogs inside the apartment complex to be removed. Meanwhile, the Greater Chennai Corporation does not yet have a baseline on the number of stray dogs in the city. Several other local bodies lack the infrastructure for conducting ABC procedures.
According to data received through the Right to Information (RTI) Act by animal activist Antony Rubin, Tamil Nadu reported 3.6 lakh dog bite cases in 2022 — the second highest in India followed by Maharashtra. A total of 155 persons have died of rabies in the State from 2012 to 2022, as per data from National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
Notably, the RTI Act response indicates there has been no budget allocation for the National Rabies Control Programme from the Union Ministry to several states, including Tamil Nadu for the last seven years. Pointing this out, Mr. Rubin suggests that the State must come out with a policy of its own as the new ABC Rules 2023 have made it difficult for animal welfare organisations to carry out sterilisation.
Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner J. Radhakrishnan said stray dog population estimation will be done in the next one or two months.
