Veterinary centre for vaccination, sterilization of community dogs in Vellore Corporation inaugurated

A special veterinary centre within the Government Veterinary Polyclinic at Thorapadi near the fort complex within Vellore Corporation commenced its operations on Saturday for vaccination, sterilization of community dogs within Corporation limits.

In association with the Department of Animal Husbandry, which executed the work along with the Tamil Nadu Animal Welfare Board, the Corporation will maintain the new facility where community dogs within the civic body limits will be taken up for sterilization in a phased manner.

“The new centre will help regulate community dogs’ population within Corporation limits. The new facility will handle only community dogs on a daily basis,” G. Anduvan, Assistant Director, Department of Animal Husbandry (Vellore), told The Hindu.

Collector V.R. Subbulaxmi inspected the new veterinary centre for community dogs in the presence of Corporation Commissioner R. Lakshmanan.

Spread over 8,000 sq.ft, the new centre has a special diagnosis room, a surgery theatre, a waiting hall, medical instrument stores, chemical analysis unit, cabins for veterinary doctors and other staff, and a vaccination room. It will function round-the-clock on all days including Sundays with at least two doctors and four attendants.

As per estimates, the Corporation has identified more than 37,000 community dogs as against 9,000 dogs a decade ago within its four zones, covering all 60 wards in the town. At present, around 1,200 community dogs are sterilized within Corporation limits.

Corporation officials said that the new centre, on an average, will handle at least six dogs every day. After post-surgery care, the community dogs will be left in the same locality where they were taken to ensure their survival by the Corporation as per ABC Rules.

The government polyclinic was a bull station for villages in northern Tamil Nadu in 1907. It was started by the British to breed quality bulls for farming thereby improving agricultural productivity. After more than 50 years, the station was upgraded to a district veterinary hospital in 1958-59 and became a polyclinic in 2019.