PANAJI
With the incident in August at a posh residential colony in Taleigao fresh on his mind, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday chose the official ‘World Rabies Day’ event at the Science Centre here to announce that the government was considering banning certain ferocious breeds of dogs which pose danger to humans.
“Certain breeds need to be banned in the State because they are aggressive and attack humans,” Sawant said while speaking at the event organised by Mission Rabies, the NGO which helped Goa to become a rabies-free State.
“Goa is a rabies-controlled state. Some people bring dogs from other States out of their passion, but they are not vaccinating them,” the Chief Minister said and even cited the recent incident in Taleigao in which a pet dog of the Rottweiler breed escaped from its owners house and attacked two kids, severely injuring them.
Goa had become a rabies-controlled State back in 2021 and a notification was even issued declaring it as such by Dr Agostinho Mesquita, the Director of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services.
Back in 2016, the State government collaborated with the NGO Mission Rabies which strategised to vaccinate 70% of the canine population of the State, both pets as well as strays, vaccinating nearly a lakh dogs for three successive years.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister said the government plans to take its programme a notch higher and sterilise strays to control their population.
“If the dog population grows, we face trouble,” the Chief Minister said, adding that one or two road mishaps are caused everyday across the State due to these strays dogs.
