Shrutika.SukhiThane: There were as many as 7,868 dog bite incidents in the rural pockets of Thane in 2017-18 but there were no deaths, thanks to awareness drives regarding rabies and the availability of anti-rabies shots at government health centres.“The animal husbandry department has been carrying out regular vaccination drives for strays. They also create awareness about the virus in the villages,” said Dr Manish Renghe, district health officer.Data compiled by the health officer shows that there has been a 51% rise in the number of dog bites in 2017-18 as compared to the previous fiscal. Experts have attributed the rise to the increasing stray population.“Sterilisation of strays by local NGOs or the municipal corporations have not been done on a massive scale due to lack of funds.It usually takes Rs 1,200 to Rs 1400 to sterilise one dog and this includes providing care at the animal health centre,” said Dr Laxman Pawar, Thane district animal husbandry officer.The district animal husbandry department has already sent a proposal to build two animal birth control centres for dogs in the district as there are none here.

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