Amala Akkineni Instagram – Relocating dogs is not a solution — it’s a setback.
We all share the pain and concern when we hear of a rabies death. No one can bring that life back, and it is heartbreaking that this disease still claims lives. Our goal has always been to alleviate suffering, and this includes – no dogs on the streets. However, experience and science has taught us that relocating dogs into shelters or in the outskirts or culling them is not the answer.
A proven, scientific way forward is the Animal Birth Control (ABC) and Anti-Rabies Vaccination (ARV) program. Wherever the sterilisation & immunization program has been applied with dedication and uniformity, it has yielded results.
Removal of dogs from their territories only results in a vacuum, which is quickly occupied by more dogs, attracted to the space and food resources from the peripheries of human settlements. These new & unfamiliar dogs are likely unvaccinated & unsterilised, bringing with them the ability to rapidly repopulate. As long as our cities generate large amounts of unmanaged garbage, new dogs will continue to be drawn in to areas unoccupied by existing street dog populations.
This is a moment of opportunity to amplify and organise the ABC-ARV program. Establish the infrastructure mandated in law-active State ABC Monitoring Committees, Local Monitoring Committees, trained veterinarians, handlers & catchers, well-equipped centres for sterilisation & vaccination, periodic vaccination drives and functional vaccine storage facilities in the remotest areas.
In Telangana, more municipalities are taking up ABC/ARV, and recently 16 government veterinarians were trained by Blue Cross of Hyderabad with the Worldwide Veterinary Services to lead these efforts in their home districts. When we work together — Government, NGOs, communities — we can protect both people and animals.
Let’s choose solutions that are humane, lasting, and rooted in science. Together, we can eradicate rabies and mitigate conflict. | Posted on 14/Aug/2025 22:52:14
