Mumbai, July 26: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is all set to make Mumbai rabies free. The country's richest civic body is planning to vaccinate all stray dogs in the city in its bid to make the city "rabies free". The civic body has taken up the initiative to vaccinate stray dogs and in line with it on Tuesday, the BMC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mission Rabies and Worldwide Veterinary Services (WVS).

Nearly 1 Lakh Stray Dogs To Be Vaccinated Every Year

As per the MoU, nearly one lakh stray dogs will be vaccinated against rabies every year in Mumbai, reports the Times of India. The development comes a few days after the country's richest civic body issued identity cards to over 20 stray dogs near the Mumbai Airport. There were about 95,000 stray dogs in Mumbai as per a 2014 survey, however, the number has increased over the year. 'Aadhaar Card' for Stray Dogs: 20 Stray Canines Outside Mumbai Airport Get QR Code Identity Cards Carrying Name, Vaccination Details and Feeder's Contact Information.

At present, the population of stray dogs in the maximum city is estimated to be around 1,64,000. After the MoU agreement, BMC said that an initiative to vaccinate stray dogs is already underway. However, the civic body also said that the MoU will help to speed up the vaccination process in the city. Notably, the vaccination process to vaccinate stray dogs in Mumbai will begin from September 2023.

The BMC will also conduct a survey of stray dotegs in January 2024 and based on the survey, the civic body will undertake a large-scale rabies vaccination campaign from February 2024. Under the "rabies-free" campaign, the BMC is aiming to give rabies vaccines to at least 1 lakh stray dogs in a period of ten days. Mumbai Pet Owners Beware! BMC Will Fine You If You Are Found Without Poop Scooper.

Earlier this month, 20 stray dogs outside the Mumbai Airport got QR code identity cards which carried the dog's name, vaccination details and its feeder's contact information.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 26, 2023 03:25 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).