NT Reporter
Panaji
The Goa Animal Federation (GAF) claimed that the actual number of stray dog bite and scratch cases in the state could be around 120 this year, rather than the 12,021 animal bite cases reported in the Assembly, stating that the official figure does not represent individual stray dog
bite cases.
GAF president and former Goa Public Service Commission chairman K D Row said the organisation had analysed the dog bite data and found that stray dog bite numbers were being exaggerated.
“The Assembly data reported 12,021 dog bite cases this year, while there were zero rabies cases in the state during the same
period,” he said.
According to superintendent of South Goa District Hospital Dr Rajendra Borkar, the national protocol for counting animal bites is based on the number of rabies shots administered at health centres.
“Each rabies shot is counted as an individual animal bite, as hospitals do not maintain a separate register for each person receiving multiple shots,” he said.
GAF said the registered animal bite figures do not differentiate between animals or individual patients. As a result, it stated that the figures create a perception that all cases involve stray dogs, while the data includes bites from different types of animals.
GAF vice-president Prakash Kamat said five rabies shots are given to each affected person. “Therefore, dividing the reported 12,021 cases by five would give around 2,400 cases,” he said, adding that the actual stray dog bite cases would be around 120 this year.
Goa’s stray dog population is 1.45 lakh, according to the state government. GAF said this means only 0.002 per cent of stray dogs had bitten or scratched someone, while 99.998 per cent had no reported biting history and were friendly towards the public.
GAF secretary Vijendra Gairola said an excessive response and suggestions for “unscientific, irrational, inhumane and impractical” solutions reflected emotional hysteria among uninformed individuals.
