India’s first pilot project under the National Rabies Control Programme was launched recently by Humane Society International/India in collaboration with the Animal Welfare Board of India and the state Government of Haryana.
Chief Minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal, launched the programme. HSI/India’s Dog Population Management programme, the animal component under the NRCP, provides a more humane and sustainable solution in managing street dog issues through mass awareness, community engagement, humane catching of street dogs, effective rabies diagnosis and improving dog bite management. It will be implemented as a pilot study only in state of Haryana and based on its success; the ministry of health will replicate it in other states. The DPM programme entails dog census, mass sterilization and mass immunization of street and pet dogs to cover at least 70 percent of their population. HSI/India has been allocated the Hisar division for this project and will be working within the geographical boundaries of five districts – Hisar, Bhiwani, Jind, Sirsa and Fatehabad.
The launch also saw the inauguration of ‘INDIA ONE’; a convoy developed as a part of the Anti-Rabies Task Force to conduct sterilization or spay/neuter, and rabies vaccinations for dogs in rural locations across India. The convoy, which includes one surgery van, one net-catching van, one trap-catching van, a hand-catching van and a post-op trailer, has been customized to the needs of the field. In India most rural areas have no access to primary health care and no programs address dog population management, causing most rabies cases go unreported. The INDIA ONE convoy aims at reaching these remote locales.
Maj Gen. (Retd) Dr RM Kharb, chairman, Animal Welfare Board of India said, “A mega project of this kind has not been attempted before. We hope that a successful implementation of this project shall be able to control the incidence of human and animal rabies and also address issues related to the overpopulation of street dogs and street dog welfare. The Animal Welfare Board of India being the coordination and facilitation agency for implementation of this program wishes the Humane Society International team a great success.”
Rahul Sehgal, director, HSI Asia said, “Having worked with street dogs over the last ten years, the biggest challenge is to find suitable infrastructure and vehicles needed to be able to undertake such a project. Eight out of ten times most projects are non-starters due to these deficiencies. INDIA ONE is the answer especially for Rural India, as the convoy doesn’t need much additional infrastructure.
HSI/India’s DPM project coupled with ‘INDIA ONE’ offers mobility and affordable surgeries and will be instrumental in setting up the Haryana project. It will move when required – to respond to disasters and set up other such DPM projects across India”.