Notably, the campaign comes amid rising judicial and public pressure. Kerala recorded 3.63 lakh dog-bite cases in the past year, a third linked to strays. In July, the High Court slammed civic bodies for inaction, noting over 1 lakh bites and 16 deaths in just six months this year.
The court rejected culling and directed a humane, structured approach centred on sterilisation, vaccination, and monitoring.
Among the chief coordinators of the ongoing vaccination drive is Sajith Sajan, a veterinary nurse and founder of Animal Rescue Kochi. known for his efforts in organising fundraisers, adoption drives, and community outreach.
“Animal Rescue Kochi acts as a base for the campaign. We collaborate and coordinate drives with other organisations,” Sajith says.
Working alongside him is British veterinary nurse Julie Corfmat, the Kerala head of Mission Rabies, who has spent nearly two decades working with street dogs across India.
“Last year, Mission Rabies collaborated with Animal Rescue Kochi and ran a 14-day anti-rabies vaccination campaign across Chellanam, Kumbalangi, and 30 wards under the Kochi corporation. The team vaccinated about 3,000 dogs through field mapping, door-to-door searches, and mobile vaccination units,” shares Julie.
The success of that drive led to the current campaign, for which they met with the authorities to develop a strategy. “So far, we have come across two cases of rabies-infected dogs during this particular drive. The total has now reached 25 since July in Kochi,” Sajith says, underscoring the urgency of the mission. When a dog suspected of being infected is identified, it is taken away for isolation, observation and, if needed, euthanasia in an ambulance that remains on standby. Other dogs in the area are given supplementary vaccine shots.
Two types of teams — ‘hand-catching’ and ‘net-catching’ — are deployed. Each has three to four volunteers armed with nets, vaccine shots, and paint markers.
“All the friendly dogs, the ones that we can handle, are vaccinated by hand. The aggressive ones are caught in a net,” says Julie.
“We vaccinate, mark, and also conduct a post-vaccination survey to assess the coverage. Right now, we have 36 teams in action.”