The Goa Animal Federation (GAF) held a gathering on Sunday at Azad Maidan Panaji where a unanimous demand was made by dog lovers that the Goa Government must start
sterilization and vaccination of community dogs on a mass scale immediately.
It was a day of thanks-giving to the Supreme Court of India by a large crowd of animal lovers and dog lovers in particular. The meet was attended by several hundred concerned citizens and animal lovers.
Advocate Norma Alvarez, Hema Sardesai, K.D. Row, Prakash Kamat, Dexter Braganza, Fidoli Pereira, along with GAF members and others thanked the Supreme Court for its humane, scientific and practical revised order to resolve the community dogs imbroglio.
Goa has an existing capacity to sterilize 15,000 dogs/year that is created by private NGOs. Since Goa needs to sterilize 50,000 dogs/year to control the dog population, GAF demanded
an aggressive government push to create additional sterilization capacity to achieve 80–90% sterilization rate within 3 years, so that within 5-6 years, a large community dog population
is reduced because of the natural life cycle.
GAF also demanded at least two incinerators in Goa to dispose bodies of animals, and the
government to meet its promise of starting 24X7 ambulance and clinic for stray animals.
The Goa Animal Federation comprising leading animal welfare NGOs across the State,
stands united in ensuring that Goa follows a lawful, scientific, and humane path as
envisaged in the revised order of the Supreme Court, that safeguards public safety while
reducing dog overpopulation in a sustainable way, stated a press release.
