Panaji: Despite Panaji leading the state in stray dog vaccination with 80% coverage, a web of legal, logistical and social obstacles hampers the city’s ability to close the remaining gap, said mayor Rohit Monserrate on Sunday. Monserrate said that without a coordinated regional approach, the problem cannot be solved by the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) acting alone.He said the Supreme Court’s guidelines on stray dog management, while well-intentioned, had made it difficult to remove even dangerous animals. He cited the case of a dog in Ribandar that had bitten multiple people. “For me to get that dog removed took eight months,” he said. “You have to establish a case, and they will check if the dog is dangerous. The procedure is very cumbersome.”The mayor also said resistance by animal lovers and dog feeders is a bottleneck to achieving full vaccination coverage. “Many times when we go, the feeders say they will not allow us to vaccinate the dogs. We get stuck,” he said. He appealed to animal lovers to cooperate with the Animal Birth Control programme rather than obstruct it.“There are animal lovers, but there are also people who are scared, people who have been bitten, children who have been bitten, riders who have fallen. The fear is also real,” he said.Monserrate also highlighted a structural challenge that when the stray dog population in Panaji is reduced, dogs from neighbouring areas move in to fill the gap. He said nearby village panchayats have much higher stray populations.He said that he intended to discuss a coordinated mass sterilisation drive covering Panaji, St Cruz and Taleigao with the minister for animal husbandry.The mayor credited PAWS for Panaji’s performance under the animal birth control programme, calling it the best in the state. No other municipality or panchayat, he said, had achieved 80% vaccination coverage. The focus now is on the remaining 20%, which will require feeders, animal welfare groups, neighbouring local bodies and govt to work in concert.
