Goa is witnessing a rise in the stray dog menace in all cities. Recently, a girl child lost her life, and in another incident, a five-year-old girl was attacked by a stray dog outside a balwadi at Curti, Ponda. After Pitbull and Rottweiler dog attacks, now it is stray dogs becoming dangerous. Many cities like Margao, Vasco, Ponda, Panjim, Bicholim, and other cities have seen a rise in stray dogs.
These dogs are fed by some NGOs, but they attack small children when they come out to play. The sterilisation drive and vaccination of dogs do not seem to be enough, and many propose to have shelters for them so that they do not come out and attack. These shelters can provide food, and those who voluntarily want to feed can do so. There are NGOs who feed them, but stray dogs can attack anybody at any time.
Hence, it is the need of the hour for the Animal Husbandry Department to find a solution to stop this menace. The government should have some mechanism to control the increase in stray dogs and provide some kind of shelter to avoid incidents and allow anyone to feed them voluntarily. The government has proposed to ban breeds like Rottweiler and Pitbull dogs and has made registration of such dogs compulsory if one has them. The stray dog issue is also a matter of concern and needs serious steps to tackle the same.
