PANAJI
In a bid to prevent cross-border transmission, the State government has made it mandatory for visitors bringing pets into Goa to register with the government and share vaccination records via the anti-rabies hotline.
In a notification issued, Directorate of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services has directed those, who have got pet animals in the last one year, to provide vaccination cards or get their dogs and cats vaccinated to prevent rabies virus entering into the State.
In May 2021, Goa was declared as “Rabies Controlled Area” due to no human rabies deaths. In the very same year, it had made it mandatory for visitors to get their animals vaccinated before entering the State.
However, officials said that many visitors, especially those having second homes in Goa, are bringing pets into the State, which are not registered and having no records of vaccination.
The official said that Goa’s borders with Maharashtra and Karnataka remain points of vulnerability, with rabies cases still detected in talukas like Bicholim, Pernem, Canacona, etc.
“It is mandatory that all the animals, more particularly dogs and cats brought into Goa must be registered and must have been vaccinated within the past one year or on arrival and the owner should carry the vaccination card, to prevent rabies virus entering into the State,” the department said.
Since 2017, Goa has largely eliminated human rabies cases, earning a “rabies-controlled” status after three consecutive years without a single death from the virus. The streak was broken by one case in 2023, but there were no fatalities in 2024 and none so far this year.
Then CM Manohar Parrikar had signed an MoU with Mission Rabies, launching a full-fledged vaccination and sterilisation drive across the State.
