Sterilization drive held in Vadodara for community-owned dogs on World Spay Day

On the occasion of World Spay Day, 23 February 2021, Humane Society International/India conducted a free camp for sterilisation and vaccination at its Animal BirthControl Centre located in Waghodia Road, Vadodara.

The camp focused on engaging community members who care for the street dogs in their areas and promoting animal birth control as an efficient remedy to manage dog population.

During this camp, over 20 dogs were sterilised and same number were vaccinated against the rabies virus.
HSI/India facilitated the camp with highly experienced veterinarians and animal welfare officers trained to use the latest humane equipment and methods. Similar camps were conducted by the organization in Lucknow and Dehradun on World Spay Day.

Keren Nazareth, director of companion animals andengagement for HSI/India, said, “There are many kind and compassionate people who care for the free-roaming dogs on their streets in Vadodara, Dehradun and Lucknow. Nothing like a better day than World Spay Day to help them get their community dogs sterilized and vaccinated to ensure the dog population is efficiently maintained in their respective areas. The management of the dog population will also assist in reducing instances of human-dog conflict. We encourage the people of Vadodara to come forward and bring more street dogs to our facilities for sterilization and vaccinations through the year.”

Zeenal Shah, a resident of Vadodara who also volunteers with HSI/India, said, “Owing to an increase in the population of street dogs and in order to prevent their suffering, it is necessary to sterilise them. I hope more residents will take advantage of the expertise that HSI/India provides in making Vadodara a better place for animals and us.”

HSI/India has been implementing a mass sterilization and anti-rabies vaccination project in Dehradun and Nainital (Uttarakhand), Vadodara (Gujarat) and Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh). Since its work began in 2013 in India, it has sterilized and vaccinated over 150,000 dogs across many cities of India.