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| Sunday, 6 June 2004 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Killing dogs: a non-solution and cruel farce by Sagarica Rajakarunanayake, Sathva Mithra At Independence Square recently, people were appalled watching the dog seizers of the CMC catching a dog and her pups and brutally shoving them into the dog van. Some other dogs that were about the place were also caught in the same manner. They were all taken away to the CMC dog pound to be killed. It was the CMC carrying out its regular operation of brutally seizing and killing dogs. What purpose is served by the CMC condemning dogs to this cruel fate? CMC officials say they are compelled to seize and kill dogs, because many people do not like the presence of dogs on roads and in public places. Does the removal of dogs from parks and public places ensure that dogs will not stray into these places again? Does this killing of dogs significantly reduce the dog population of any place? The answer is, no. It is commonly observed that it does not take long after dogs are removed from any place for a similar number of dogs to appear there again. Studies by the WHO in Sri Lanka and other countries show that destruction of dogs fails to reduce dog populations. A principal reason for this failure is that dog catchers, however skilled, succeed in catching only a small number of dogs in any place, because people dislike the brutal system of seizing and killing, and obstruct the catching of dogs. Another reason is that when one set of dogs are removed from the road another set comes and fills the void, especially at garbage dumps which are the food sources of stray dogs. The removal of some dogs from the road also means less being left to share the food sources. Chances are that these dogs will be more healthy and productive. The truth is that this brutal operation of catching and killing dogs, proudly continued by the CMC as a service to the public, is a non-solution and a cruel farce. It is only a temporary reduction of an insignificant number of animals making no difference to the total dog population of a place, paving the way for a similar number of dogs or even more to make their appearance again. The only solution to control the increasing dog population is not killing but the prevention of births by methods of animal birth control, principally, sterilization and neutering. The CMC has only itself to blame for the uncontrolled growth of the dog population in the city, because it stubbornly refuses to carry out programmes of sterilization in the CMC dog pound and its clinics or at the community level where dog populations are high. Nearly two years ago, the veterinarians of the CMC, in partnership with a voluntary organization, announced their intention to carry out a programme of sterilization of dogs in the City of Colombo. They raised much hope about the humane control of the dog population and eradication of rabies in Colombo. However, up to now there are no signs of implementing any such sterilization programme. This is a great deception of the public of Colombo. In contrast, the Kandy Municipal Council, led by the Mayor himself, took a courageous decision two years ago to support to Animal Welfare groups, in a campaign to stop killing dogs, pick up the strays, and have them sterilized at the dog pound of the KMC. After sterilization, the dogs are vaccinated and tattooed. Dogs that are considered community dogs are returned to their original habitat. Dogs brought from Kandy Town are mostly owned dogs and are taken away by their owners, while those unclaimed are kept in the pound awaiting re-homing. Two years later, despite many obstacles, this humanitarian programme is still on track. Mass vaccination of dogs is also carried out as part of this programme. Not a single dog that was brought to the pound since the start of this project has been killed. Three thousand dogs were saved in the first year, the same number that was killed annually prior to this programme. The Kandy Programme should indeed be taken as the model for a pilot project for Colombo, and all other local authorities, for rabies control. However, despite the example provided by Kandy, the CMC is not prepared to return sterilized and vaccinated dogs back to the community supposedly out of concern for the safety of the public. It is unfortunate that such misguided concern is preventing the CMC from adopting progressive methods and misleading the public as well. The CMC should know that every vaccinated dog on the road, is one more safe dog on the road. In fact the Director, Public Health Veterinary Services (PHVS), has introduced a method of vaccinating dogs on the road with an auto vaccinator, instead of seizing and killing them. One vaccinator with an auto plunger can vaccinate around a 100 dogs a day. The Director has carried out a pilot project on a large scale in Puttalam, and he now believes Puttalam now has a high degree of immunization against rabies as a result. If the CMC is seriously concerned about the spread of rabies among dogs, the only solution is to vaccinate increasing numbers of dogs, targeting 75 80% of the dog population of Colombo, because with that level of immunization Colombo could be considered virtually free of rabies. This cannot be achieved by the lukewarm programme of annual vaccinations carried out in Colombo, not backed by an effective awareness campaign to motivate people to bring community dogs for vaccination. In fact, despite the CMC declaring a rise in dog rabies, in many areas the vaccinations are not given annually. A veritable vaccination war must be carried out, using multiple methods targeting both owned and roaming dogs. The refusal by the CMC to release dogs back to the community also shows failure on its part to understand the dog population and ownership patterns in society. Studies by WHO show that a large proportion of dogs found in Sri Lanka are owned. Yet a large number of these owned dogs are not permanently confined to homes with gates, and may move freely in and out of the houses of their owners. WHO points out that these owned roaming dogs are accepted by the people as belonging to the community and neighbourhood. Members of the community feed these animals and are known to protect them from the dogcatchers and even bring them to vaccination clinics. A large proportion of dogs found in Colombo are such community dogs. It is therefore criminal to seize and kill these dogs that are so close to humans. The proper solution is not to kill them but to vaccinate them because as the WHO points out these dogs being close to humans and friendly are accessible for vaccination. The communities that care for these dogs are also the key to the success of any vaccination and sterilization programme. If the CMC builds proper links with them it will gain their cooperation for these programmes. It is indeed tragic that the CMC has taken up a position of remaining stubbornly impervious to the progressive trends taking place at the present moment. They are even ignoring the new approach of the Director PHVS in promoting large-scale sterilization and vaccination as the solution to dog population control and the eradication of rabies. The CMC must keep in mind it has an obligation to bring Colombo in line with the progressive trends in dog population control and eradication of rabies. |
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