MADURAI: The Madurai City Municipal Corporation claims to actively implement Animal Birth Control (ABC) measures to control community dogs, but the number of dog bite cases has not come down.
According to data shared by Madurai city corporation, a total of 14,000 dog bite cases were reported in 100 wards in the city in 2024, at an average of 1,000-1,200 cases per month.
This, according to data, is the highest in seven years (see box).
The number of affected people has already crossed 4,500 in the first three months of the year, at an average of 1,500 cases per month. All the affected people have received treatment in government health centres.
M Murugesan, an activist said at least 10-15 dogs can be found in every street in the city. The increase in numbers is the major cause of spike in dog bite cases. “The corporation releases dogs in the same locality after performing ABC. So the menace continues to remain high. The civic body should establish shelters for community dogs and also ban pet owners from leaving their pets in the streets,” he added.
K Jayachandran, ward 62 councillor and activist involved in feeding community dogs, said adoption of strays should be promoted and it could address the problem to some extent.
Speaking about the issue, senior officials in the corporation said the civic body has been taking a series of measures such as Animal Birth Control (ABC). In 2024, ABC was done on 4,199 community dogs.
The city has two ABC centres, at Vellakkal and Sellur. Also, the corporation has recently completed a census of community dogs but the data is yet to be released. Based on the reports, corporation will take measures to address the issue.
Activists say the corporation must intensify dog catching activity, In response, officials said additional dog catching vehicles would be bought this year at the cost of Rs 10 lakh.