Dog vaccination and sterilisation programme
I have been researching for a reply to Md Asimuzzaman's letter of July 20th. He complains that there are too many dogs in West Rampura, that people are afraid of them, that all dogs should be chained up or they are dangerous (!) and wants 'the authorities' to 'take effective measures'.
I hope the 'measures' he refers to are not the previous, ineffective culling/killing of every dog in sight, including personal pets with collars, sitting outside their residences! Dhaka City Corporation used to kill around 30,000 dogs a year at an annual cost of 9 lakh BDT, but it only proved the truth of the World Health Organisation's claim that “there is no evidence that the removal of dogs ever had a significant impact on dog population densities or the spread of rabies.” It also met with a lot of opposition - as research proves that a high percentage of dogs are owned personally or by the community in which they live.
At last, an alternative policy has been presented to the government and been accepted. The praiseworthy organization is Obhoyaronno -- Bangladesh Animal Welfare Foundation and the policy is to vaccinate the dogs against rabies and sterilize them to control their population. This was officially launched last January to national and international acclaim. Obhoyaronno signed a Memorandum of Understanding with both Dhaka City Corporations. The Daily Star published two articles but, it seems, the news is slow to get round. The Department of Health is also planning a nationwide mass dog vaccination programme.
Slowly, the new policy is being implemented. Already, nearly 4000 dogs in Cox's Bazar and 6000 in Shatkhira have been vaccinated. As most public concerns about dogs in Dhaka are due to overpopulation, Obhoyaronno's Dhaka programme does not only vaccinate dogs against rabies, but also sterilizes them. Its clinic at 780/24 Bosila Road , near Bosila Bridge, Mohammadpur, has vets and para-vets, trained in India in modern dog population management and its van is slowly getting round each area of Dhaka, consulting people and taking around 12 dogs back to the clinic every day for anti-rabies injections and sterilisation. The public can also take their pets there. It also conducts education programmes in schools and communities on 'how to avoid dog bites' as some dog bites are provoked. For more information, see their Facebook page -https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Obhoyaronno-Bangladesh-Animal-Welfare-Society/149573081756353I.
The governments of many of our neighbouring countries including Bhutan, India and Sri Lanka, have adopted this programme and have proved that it can reduce rabies to almost zero! That is quite a contrast to the 2000 people who die of rabies every year in Bangladesh, over half of them children.
I advise the writer from West Rampura to wait patiently until the new programme reaches their area. I also hope that more people understand that a dog needs affectionate care and regular exercise and that keeping it permanently chained - or in a flat or yard all day - is such an abnormal life that it will go crazy and might, indeed, become dangerous.
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