According to a Kudumbasree Mission official, there has been a considerable fall in the number of stray dogs in the State after it took over the ABC project Photo: S. Ramesh Kurup | Photo Credit: S_RAMESHKURUP more-in The Kudumbasree Mission will take over the management of the Kozhikode district panchayat’s Animal Birth Control (ABC) Centre at Balussery, which was closed down after 24 stray dogs died in April. Kudumbasree district coordinator P.C. Kavitha told The Hindu on Saturday that the Balussery and Puthupady ABC centres would be taken over by Kudumbasree, and more might be taken over later based on the feasibility of the two centres. Kudumbasree is already in charge of ABC centres in 10 districts and has a rather good track record. “The units formed for the running of ABC centres often consist of both male and female family members of active Kudumbasree workers. They undergo training in capturing stray dogs and taking care of them after surgery,” Ms. Kavitha said. Veterinarians are sometimes sourced from the Animal Husbandry Department, while in most cases, empanelled veterinarians are roped in. She said there had been a considerable fall in the number of stray dogs in the State after Kudumbasree took over the project. The State spends ?2,400 per stray dog including veterinarians’ fee and medication for the animals. The district panchayat had closed down three ABC centres owing to various issues, one of them being the alleged irresponsible behaviour of the staff appointed by an NGO that had been running the centres. Moreover, the death of strays dogs made matters worse, and the Balussery centre had to be closed down following public pressure. Autopsy proved that the dogs had been starved for days, and that many were not administered proper care and medicines after the surgery, causing internal infection leading to their death. Photo contest Meanwhile, on the first anniversary of Kudumbasree’s association with the ABC project, the mission is organising a photography and logo competition for the public on stray dog issue. It is part of Suraksha 2018, a State-level programme to enhance the effectiveness of the project and also to create awareness on it. The photographs in jpg format (only one per participant) shall be sent to abcphotospem@gmail.com before July 1. Logos for the Suraksha project shall be sent to abclogospem@gmail.com. A participant shall send up to three logos in 300 dpi resolution and 3X3 inch size.

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