Sterilisation of stray dogs undertaken in areas around Tadoba tiger reserve

Chandrapur, Jan 7 (PTI) The Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district has undertaken a sterilisation and vaccination program to deal with the growing menace of stray dogs, officials said on Wednesday.

Attacks by stray dogs have resulted in the deaths of species such as deer, hares, peafowl, foxes and small birds, TATR field director Prabhu Nath Shukla said, adding that in some cases wild animals were found to have been infected with diseases like rabies and distemper.

The buffer area of the reserve has 95 villages.

The dog sterilization and vaccination programme was launched jointly by the TATR and People For Animals, Wardha, and Wild CER.

Pregnant female dogs, lactating mothers, extremely weak or sick dogs, puppies below six months of age, elderly dogs, and dogs unfit for anaesthesia are excluded from surgery.

Post-surgery, dogs are provided proper care, and released back at the exact locations from where they were captured after recovery, the release said.

Since January 2025, 1,889 dogs have been castrated and vaccinated by the People For Animals, Wardha and 382 by the Wild CER. They are aiming to cover all the stray dogs in the buffer area by March 31, the release said.

"Stray dogs are a matter of concern not only for wildlife but also for human health, due to dog bite incidents and the spread of rabies and other diseases. Therefore, the programme for stray dog sterilization and vaccination will be institutionalized to ensure that such issues are effectively prevented," said Shukla. PTI CLS KRK