MAPUSA
In a bid to control stray dog menace in Calangute particularly along the beach belt, the local panchayat along with the Department of Animal Husbandry has decided to sterilise around 2,000 strays within a period of six months.
The rise in the population of stray dogs along the beach belt was turning into a nuisance particularly to tourists who frequent the beach. Locals, who go for early morning walks on the beach, had to also face the attack of strays on several occasions.
The Calangute panchayat in association with the Directorate of Animal Husbandry and Noah’s Animal Care Shelter has taken up the challenge to sterilise the strays and control its rising number.
“We have been planning this initiative for the last several months. All the stray dogs that move on the beach will be brought to the Noah’s Animal Care Shelter run by Augustine Proenca, where they will be sterilised. They will then be left at the same place from where they were collected,” said Michael Lobo, Ports Minister and MLA of Calangute while inaugurating the ‘Mission Calangute 4 pets’ initiative to control the strays at the Noah’s Animal Care Shelter at Porbavaddo, Calangute.
He said many foreigners fed the strays or paid the shack owners to feed them, which led to rise in their number on the beach belt.
Deputy Director of Animal Husbandry Dr Marwin Lopes said stray dogs were a big nuisance in every panchayat and the tourist belt.
He said the government through the Department of Animal Husbandry has created a scheme so that the strays do not multiply.
Former deputy sarpanch and panchayat member, Sudesh Mayenkar informed that the panchayat was receiving a lot of complaints about the nuisance created by the stray dogs on the beach.
“Calangute panchayat along with the local MLA decided to launch this mission to control the population of the strays,” Mayenkar said.
Calangute Sarpanch Francisco Rodrigues, Zilla Parishad member, Dattaprasad Dabholkar, Deputy Sarpanch Pooja Matkar were also present.
