Mysuru:  In a peculiar and arguably flawed arrangement, the Senior Health Officer of the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) is compelled to double up as a Veterinary Doctor due to the State Government’s decision to abolish the posts of Veterinary Doctors and Veterinary Inspectors that previously existed in City Corporations across Karnataka.

According to sources, the abolishment of these crucial posts has left the Health Officer with the added responsibility of overseeing tasks traditionally handled by qualified veterinarians. These duties include monitoring the health conditions of pet animals and ensuring the supply of meat adheres to specified quality and hygiene standards.

The absence of dedicated veterinary professionals is raising concerns about its long-term consequences on public health and the effective management of animal-related responsibilities.

Outside domain expertise

Previously, MCC’s veterinary wing was tasked with certifying the quality of meat at slaughter-houses, implementing the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme for stray dogs, vaccinating stray and pet animals, capturing stray cattle and pigs and issuing licenses to private veterinary clinics.

With these specialised roles requiring technical expertise, it is questionable how a Health Officer — qualified to treat humans — can adequately handle veterinary duties, which fall outside their domain of expertise.

At the slaughter-house in Kurimandi on the city’s outskirts, thousands of sheep and goats are slaughtered daily to meet the city’s meat demands. It was once the responsibility of Veterinary Doctors and Inspectors to certify the quality of meat every morning and conduct regular inspections of meat stalls.

However, this system has now fallen into disuse, raising concerns about the cleanliness and safety of meat sold to consumers.

Alternative measures ignored

The Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services has a pool of qualified veterinarians in its hospitals whose expertise could be utilised as an alternative.

Despite this, there appears to be no effort by the MCC to either reintroduce the posts of Veterinary Doctors and Inspectors or seek the assistance of the Animal Husbandry Department to fill the gap. Experts familiar with the issue said that there is an urgent need for the Government to reinstate or depute Veterinary Doctors and Inspectors to the MCC to ensure the effective management of animal welfare, public health and meat safety.

Rising stray dog population

The city is witnessing a troubling increase in stray dog numbers. Several incidents of children and elders being attacked by stray dogs have been reported recently.  Observers suggest that sterilisation surgeries under the ABC programme are not being carried out effectively, likely due to the absence of veterinarians within the MCC. A concerned citizen lamented, “The lack of veterinary staff in MCC might be the reason for this issue.”

Meanwhile, MCC Commissioner Ashaad-Ur-Rehman Shariff was not available for comments, as he was out of station, to attend a meeting.

Does MCC inspect slaughter-houses?

The Government should depute Veterinary Doctors and Inspectors to the MCC at the earliest. The Health Officer certifying meat at slaughter-houses is concerning, particularly regarding its safety for consumption. Moreover, there is no clarity on whether MCC conducts regular inspections of slaughter-houses anymore. The absence of these key roles threatens not only the safety of the city’s residents but also the integrity of its public health systems. —Shivakumar, former Mayor

Health Officer reacts

I was posted in MCC a year ago and prior to my posting here, the posts of Veterinary Officer and Assistant Veterinary Officer (that previously existed) had been abolished. The Veterinary Section had been allotted a chamber attached to Health Section, which has now been allotted to an engineer. Now, in the changed system, a Case Worker attends to the works related to Veterinary Section and puts up the files related to Veterinary issue for my perusal.” — Dr. N.P. Venkatesh, Senior Health Officer, MCC