Including strays in the livestock census will help in addressing dog bite cases
The 21st Livestock Census is underway across the country including Goa. Around 1 lakh field officials, who are mostly veterinarians or para-veterinarians, are involved in the enumeration process.
The Census involves a comprehensive door-to-door survey that captures detailed data on domesticated animals and birds across the nation. Till date, 20 livestock censuses had been conducted and the last census was held in the year 2019. The census serves as the backbone for policy formulation and the implementation of various programmes in the animal husbandry sector. A combination of mobile apps, web-based dashboards, and offline data will help capture and collect data on livestock. This advancement is expected to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of data collection across all villages and urban wards in the country.
Based on this data, vaccination campaigns, animal welfare programmes, livestock health and disease management, and endangered breed preservation efforts are planned. India’s rich and diverse livestock resources play a crucial role in the economy, supporting millions of livelihoods. Census also helps to monitor livestock trends closely. The enumeration process in Goa began in November 2024 and is expected to be completed by February 2025. The survey is being conducted in 657 villages and urban wards with the help of 115 enumerators, 31 supervisors, and two nodal officers using digital data collection methods.
VP Singh, director of animal husbandry services (AHS) in the department of animal husbandry and dairying (DAHD) of the government of India, said “Interestingly, this year, the Livestock Census has introduced a new feature — recording information on owned dogs and their breeds across the state, and even stray dogs are enumerated. This move comes in response to a rise in dog bite incidents, particularly involving aggressive breeds.”
Singh also said that enumerators will cover around 3.5 lakh households across the state to gain a clear understanding of the ground-level situation regarding livestock. The comprehensive survey will provide detailed data on 16 species and 221 breeds.
Minister for Animal Husbandry Nilkanth Halarnkar had stated a few months ago that the Goa government has taken a unique approach by including owned dogs in the census along with livestock data collection.
According to him, the rising number of dog bite cases, particularly involving certain ferocious breeds, prompted the government to declare collecting breed-wise data of dogs. The minister noted that this data would help determine the number of dogs of each breed in Goa, so that necessary action, if needed, could be taken at the appropriate time. As per the 2019 Livestock Census, Goa had 9,479 stray cattle. As for stray dogs, the census had recorded 15,370 in North Goa and 12,494 in South Goa.
The initiative of the Goa government to include census of owned dogs as part of the livestock census should be appreciated as the exercise will give the figures in detail breed-wise. Importantly, once the stray dog population is quantified, the government will be able to take necessary steps with the help of NGOs. The government will also know to what extent the neutering policy is successful or not. Besides, necessary policies and guidelines could be framed so that the population of the strays could be brought under control in a humane manner.
