'Keep stray dogs in shelter homes to prevent rabies'

Industrialist Kochouseph Chittilappilly, who runs a campaign against stray dog menace, today said such canines should be kept in shelter homes as part of efforts to reduce incidence of rabies.
A day after the Supreme Court asked states and civic bodies to take steps to sterilise and vaccinate nuisance-causing stray dogs, he suggested that such a move could be "impractical" unless there are changes in the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rule.
Chittilappilly, who runs the 'Stray Dog Free Movement' said the ABC Rule 2001 whereby stray dogs should be put back to the same location where they were caught from after sterilisation and vaccination is impractical. Vaccinated dogs can still be 'carriers of rabies virus' and can infect become more aggressive and dangerous, he added.

"The solution instead is to keep the stray dogs in shelter homes and be rid of them as death due to rabies is the worst and the most horrific one," he told reporters here.
To address the stray dog menace, he also emphasised the need for having responsible waste management system.
Quoting World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics, he said 55,000 people die worldwide annually owing to rabies and out of them, about 20,000 such deaths occur in India.
On an average, every day about 100 dog bite cases are reported in Kerala and in Gujarat about 730 people are bitten by dogs on a daily basis, Chittilappilly said.

To create awareness about stray dog menace and rabies, Chittilappilly -- the founder-chairman of V-Guard Industries Ltd -- would go on one-day fast here on March 19. He has earlier observed similar fast in different parts of Kerala.