Six years on, Husbandry Dept to start animal census in city today
After nearly six years, the UT Animal Husbandry Department will start the animal census in the city from tomorrow. It will cover all livestock, including dogs (domestic as well as stray dogs) in the city.
The department will undertake the massive exercise under the ‘Livestock Census and Integrated Sample Survey’ scheme of the Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Dairying. The census will be completed by February next year.
To collect real-time data, the survey will be done through a mobile application in order to bring accuracy and efficiency of data collection. Also, offline data collection will be done to ensure a comprehensive evaluation.
According to officials, massive preparations have been done to make sure that the census is conducted smoothly. They said the staff who would carry out the survey had been fully trained as per the guidelines of the ministry.
The last livestock census was carried out in 2018-19 with reference date October 1, 2018. According to the 2028-19 census, the stray dog population stood at 12,922 and the domestic dog population was recorded at 11,006.
The total livestock population stood at 26,990, including bovine count of 25,617, while population of stray cattle was 1,440. A survey conducted by the municipal corporation in 2023 recorded the stray dog population at 9,503.
Despite big sterilisation claims of the MC, the number of dog bite cases in the city has doubled in 2023 compared to previous year. In 2022, 5,365 persons were bitten by canines, while the number jumped to a whopping 10,621 by the end of December last year.
The corporation had claimed that more than 22,000 stray dogs had been sterilised till since 2015 till December last year through private agencies at a cost of Rs 2.14 crore to contain the dog population.
On the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the UT Administration had formed a committee in July this year to provide compensation to persons affected by accidents due to stray animals or dog bites.
According to the HC judgment, a compensation of Rs 10,000 will be awarded for each tooth mark in dog bites. Additionally, for cases where flesh is pulled out from the body up to 0.2 cm, Rs 10,000 will be given per instance. To claims compensation, all applications must include a medical report and a daily diary report (DDR) from the respective police station. A medico-legal certificate of the dog bite clinics in Sectors 19 and 38 and the GMSH-16 is also required.
