Capturing free-roaming dogs for sterilisation: data from a multi-site study in Goa, India

Sterilisation and rabies vaccination programs seek to manage free-roaming domestic dog (Canis familiaris) populations with the aim to reduce inter-species disease transmission and conflicts. As effective, permanent, remotely-administered options are not yet available for sterilisation, and oral vaccination is not yet commonly used; free-roaming dogs are typically captured for these interventions. To characterise the dynamics of free-roaming dog capture for sterilisation, we collected location and demographic data from six sterilisation campaigns conducted in Goa, India between 2020 and 2021 by the Worldwide Veterinary Service. These data described the daily success of catching teams during the sterilisation campaigns. Surveys of the free-roaming dog population were conducted prior to, during, and after the campaigns in five sites, documenting sterilisation status of dogs sighted. These data were used to infer daily sterilisation coverage for each study site. The associated paper demonstrates how dog capture varied with landcover type and distance from roads. The paper characterises how the reduction in entire (non-sterilised) dogs throughout intensive capture-sterilise-release programs reduces the number of dogs caught per day over time. These findings can be used to more-accurately model interventions in free-roaming dog populations and better understand their impacts. This will help to plan how to most efficiently distribute and make the best use of limited resources.