PANAJI
Ten days after the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services launched the Livestock Census and a house-to-house survey for owned dogs in Goa, only 30 per cent of the enumerators have logged in.
Official sources revealed to 'The Goan' that a team of around 110 enumerators has been engaged to conduct the survey and collect data digitally. However, only 30 per cent have commenced work so far, with the department assuring that the remaining enumerators will join the drive by next week.
“After the launch, there was a weekend break and the work had to be thoroughly explained to the enumerators. The remaining team members are expected to start by next week,” the source said. The collaborative data of the census will only be available after the completion of the surveys.
The enumerators have been tasked with personally visiting their respective areas and collecting data, which will be verified by their supervisors. The reports will then be forwarded to the district nodal officer and subsequently to the State nodal officer for further processing.
The initiative to record owned dogs has been taken up as an extended part of the 21st National Livestock Census, prompted by a rise in dog bite incidents involving aggressive breeds. The census will cover households, non-household enterprises, gaushalas, military areas, aviation zones, and other establishments across the State.
Animal Husbandry Minister Nilkanth Halarnkar has stated that the increasing number of dog bite cases, particularly involving certain ferocious breeds, led the government to include breed-wise data collection on owned dogs in the census.
Simultaneously, the enumerators will conduct the Livestock Census, gathering details on the number, breed, age, and gender of various species. The census will cover 16 species and 221 breeds of livestock, including poultry birds, and will encompass cattle, buffaloes, camels, goats, pigs, donkeys, sheep, mules, horses, dogs, rabbits, yaks, elephants, ponies, mithun, and poultry (fowls, ducks, etc.). Stray cattle and dogs will also be included in the digital census.
