Veterinary dept, MCC to launch drive to make city rabies-free

Mangaluru: The department of animal husbandry and veterinary services is partnering with the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) for a joint vaccination drive targeting stray dogs in the 60 wards to make the coastal city rabies-free.Dr Arun Kumar Shetty, deputy director, department of animal husbandry and veterinary services, said that nearly one lakh pet dogs have already been vaccinated in Dakshina Kannada district. "We have held discussions with the city corporation officials to launch drives through agencies to vaccinate all stray dogs in the city," he said.As part of the State Action Plan for Rabies Elimination (SAPRE), the govt has launched the Rabies-free Cities initiative in Mangaluru and 10 other cities, to eliminate dog-mediated human rabies by 2030. Meanwhile, the National Rabies Control Programme (NRCP) also aims at achieving zero human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 2030. Rabies can be controlled effectively only through vaccination of all dogs, Dr Shetty said, adding that vaccines are provided free of cost at veterinary clinics of the department.District-level joint steering committees for coordinated action and monitoring have been formed as part of SAPRE. Meanwhile, to support the rabies elimination plans in the city, a city-level task force has been formed, and action plans have also been prepared. Vaccination drives for dogs are being held across the Dakshina Kannada district. Due to increased awareness, more people bring their pets for vaccination, he said.27,000 dog bite cases in 2025Dakshina Kannada has reported 27,481 dog bite cases in 2025. The number of cases reported in 2023 and 2024 was 20,487 and 20,071, respectively. Dr Shetty said that the majority of the dog bite cases were related to pet dogs. Out of 27,481 cases reported last year, 21,673 were related to pet dogs and 5,808 involved stray dogs, he said.
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