Capturing free-roaming dogs for sterilisation: A multi-site study in Goa, India.

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Public Health
• Animal Population Management
• Wildlife Ecology

Background:

• Sterilization and rabies vaccination programs aim to control free-roaming domestic dog populations, reducing disease transmission and human-animal conflict.
• Current interventions typically involve capturing dogs, as permanent remote sterilization and widespread oral vaccination are not yet available.
• Data on how capture rates change over time with repeated efforts in defined areas is limited, hindering efficient program development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze dog capture data and identify high-probability capture locations within six catch-sterilize-release campaigns in Goa, India.
• To assess the relationship between increasing sterilization coverage and the difficulty of capturing remaining intact dogs.
• To inform resource allocation for effective free-roaming dog population management.

Main Methods:

• Utilized spatial coordinates from dog captures across six catch-sterilize-release campaigns.
• Integrated capture numbers with population survey data from five distinct sites.
• Analyzed capture trends in relation to sterilization coverage over time.

Main Results:

• Characterized spatial patterns of dog capture likelihood.
• Documented a significant increase in the difficulty of capturing intact dogs as sterilization coverage rose.
• Demonstrated a corresponding increase in the unit cost of capturing dogs with higher sterilization rates.

Conclusions:

• Repeated capture efforts for dog sterilization become progressively harder and more expensive as population coverage increases.
• Accurate estimation of resources for managing free-roaming dogs requires accounting for the diminishing returns in capture efficiency.
• This data is vital for planning efficient intervention strategies to manage dog populations and mitigate associated risks.