FAQ

Rabies is a viral disease that is transmitted mainly through a dog bite and is invariably fatal in humans and mammals. It is reported that approximately 45% of worldwide rabies deaths occur in Asia. Dog bites account for 96% of human rabies cases. Therefore preventing human rabies requires control of the disease in dogs and this should be the way forward.

Eradication of rabies needs at least 70% of the dogs vaccinated (both owned and roaming dogs). This results in what is called "herd immunity" which has been scientifically proven to even protect unvaccinated animals that are surrounded by these safe vaccinated animals. After about 3 years of good "herd Immunity" rabies will be eradicated.

City of Colombo Example:

We have seen this in Colombo where the isolated incidences of dog rabies have not spread to other dogs in the vicinity. Even if there is one rabid dog, that's it, there is no spread. From 1960 to 2007 the average number of dog rabies cases in Colombo never dropped below 25/year. For the year 2011 five owned dogs, one owned roaming dog, and 2 roaming dogs were positive for rabies (a total of 8 cases). Sadly some of these rabid dogs were owned by professionals and households who have not been vaccinated not due to financial constraints but lack of time, interest and knowledge.

International organizations specializing in rabies control (WHO, WSPA, FAO) have developed clear methods and protocols for control of dog rabies. This knowledge is readily accessible on the Web.

Rabies blue print - http://www.rabiesblueprint.com/

ICAM - http://icam-coalition.org/

Some of the most important aspects of dog rabies and population management are

• Survey of dogs – an effective dog count
• Registration and identification of owned dogs
• Vaccination – 80% cover of all dogs,
• Sterilization (emphasis on females; 80% cover)
• Education,
• Legislation,
• Euthanasia when necessary,
• Proper garbage control strategies.

All these components have to be included, are equally important and are essential for an effective national strategy.

Currently there is quite a lot of emphasis on this subject due to the countries' target to eradicate rabies by 2016. This is possible if all stakeholders work hand in hand in a systematic and scientific manner with proper monitoring and evaluation of all projects. The program must be planned at the national level following international protocols combined with due consideration of the ground realities of the Sri Lankan situation. It should be implemented at the local government and grass roots level with special planning, capacity building and monitoring to ensure effective results. Neutral and independent monitoring organizations need to evaluate 'on the ground' impact and constantly change and modify the plan to ensure good and effective results.

To understand how best to address the problem of roaming dogs, we must look at the root cause or where these dogs come from, onto our streets. In addition it is important to know to what extent roaming dogs have been the cause of dog bites, relative to owned and confined dogs that are involved in the bite statistics. In Sri Lanka it seems that the greater percentage of dog bites are from owned dogs.

Roaming dogs get their basic needs looked after directly or indirectly; for example, tourist beaches with a lot of kind hearted people feed the dogs and unwanted pups are dumped anonymously hoping someone else will take care of their problem. In the end what happens is no one wants to claim ownership to these animals and they get left to roam our streets. Given the reality of the situation with the increasing number of roaming dogs on the street, it is imperative that we address this issue and all stakeholders take an active interest and role; including the public who have a huge role to play. The main role for the public is responsible pet ownership within their homes. If you know that you cannot find homes for any puppies born to your own pet, you must either confine your female dog or prevent her from coming into contact with male dogs. This can be very difficult, as there are so many roaming dogs on the streets and if a female dog is in heat they will detect the scent and try to mate with that animal with the inevitable consequence of unwanted pups which now belong to you. There are injectable dog birth control drugs which may not appear very expensive but must be repeated quite often to ensure reproductive control. These drugs also have side effects which are not good for the dogs. The best birth control measure for female dogs is sterilization, a surgical procedure with higher cost but which lasts the entire lifetime of the animal.

The key as a pet owner is responsibly ensuring that unwanted pups do not enter the streets or public places. In order to address the current problem of roaming dogs on our streets, the public authorities and non-governmental organizations must and are taking measures to vaccinate and neuter the animals who are owned by the community or parts of the community which cannot afford the sterilization. Both the governmental rabies control project and NGO's such as Dog Star Foundation, Dog Care clinic TAPA, AWPA, Embark, KACPAW, Lucy Trust as well as many others and individual vets themselves are organizing and carrying out such programs all over the country. We must all co-operate with these commendable organizations and ensure that no pups end up in public places and on the streets.

Some segments of society feel that it is unfair to sterilize dogs. Although this attitude is understandable, it is not in the best interest of dogs or people. It is in fact stated by dog behaviour specialists that mating is purely a hormonally driven activity that results in the production of offspring. The suffering that roaming dogs undergo in their lifetime is much worse than the fulfillment that some perceive to be present in reproducing, as the unwanted pups get dumped on the streets to fend for themselves.

Another area of public responsibility and co-operation is to NOT feed dogs in a haphazard way wherever you see them and to throw your left over food into unsecure roaming dog accessible areas. It is best to dispose of your left over food in a responsible manner by either taking it to back to your home or in to a bin that is securely made impenetrable by roaming animals. Where there is no food, no dog will spend time there. Appropriate places, away from the public and which cause minimal public disturbance, must be chosen and any dog feeding done in these places only.

Dog Managed Zones

Another aspect much debated and highlighted in the newspapers is the inconvenience to the public caused by roaming dogs in hospitals, schools and other specific places. Currently in the city of Colombo we have several such premises that initially requested CMC to remove the dogs. However an alternate solution was proposed by Blue Paw Trust which developed a concept called Dog Managed Zones (DMZ). Lady Ridgeway hospital, the Government printers, Kannangara School, Castle Street hospital, are effective examples. A DMZ is a scientific and sustainable solution where humans and dogs can co-exist in harmony. When a public institution is selected for a DMZ, the existing dogs are not removed from the premises, unless aggressive. These animals are sterilized, vaccinated and healthy; thereby posing no risk to the public. The existing dogs are fed in an isolated area of the compound which is away from the public by a designated person and at specific times. Water is provided regularly by this same person and (to prevent mosquito breeding) is changed regularly. Adequate shelter is provided for the dogs near these feeding stations to encourage them to stay in these areas and away from the public.

The presence of these animals, due to their natural territorial behavior, helps prevent unknown and unvaccinated, unsterilized roaming animals from entering the premises. The institution compound must be enclosed adequately thereby further restricting entry of roaming dogs. The surroundings must be kept clean and free of garbage thus further discouraging roaming dogs from utilizing the premises. Properly designed dog proof garbage bins and posters informing the public that frequent the premises not to feed dogs and litter are posted throughout. Due to the dog bite prevention education provided as part of the education program in a DMZ, no dog bites are reported after the initiation of a DMZ. Education of the staff and public on their role in creating an environment that is safe and nuisance-free for people as well as animals is vital. Ongoing monitoring of premises needed to ensure the principles of the DMZ are maintained in a long term sustainable manner. After the natural reduction of the sterilized dog population within the DMZ, it becomes a "dog free zone". We have seen that the perception and tolerance of people improve with regard to dogs within these institutions when the public inconvenience is alleviated.

On the issue of dog shelters and why they are not a solution; there are lots of practical problems with dog shelters. Everyone thinks that this is an easy solution but it is neither easy nor a solution. The dogs in shelters live longer maybe even up to ten years. You need one acre for 100 dogs to be sheltered humanely. And about Rs 1000 per month per dog and this is being conservative, it will often cost more. This means for 5000 dogs (estimated roaming population for Colombo) you need 50 acres of land and Rs. 5,000,000 per month to maintain the shelter (Staff to cook food, kennel cleaning, bathing and tick control , medications, exercise, electricity, gas, water, transport, petrol, maintenance and repair plus many more costs). This assumes that all dogs are sterilized (which again costs money) and will not reproduce in the shelter and the shelter does not get any more dogs from households that keep dumping. Don't forget you have to do this for at least 10 years from the time you take on the first pup and prices will increase with inflation. This is just for the 5000 dogs in the Colombo city; the amount is a great deal higher for the entire country. Is this possible to do? This is again assuming that the dog population does not increase and that once these 5000 dogs are taken out no more dogs will appear. In other words, people will not dump their unwanted puppies and people will look after all the dogs they take as pets without allowing them to roam etc. The reality of most shelters in poor countries like ours is that they provide very poor welfare conditions.

The dogs are often overcrowded, not fed adequately, cages not cleaned often enough, inadequate human interaction and personal attention, as well as inadequate health care often resulting in the spread of serious illnesses. In fact often dogs are much worse off than on the street or even probably than being euthanized. Whilst if they were on the streets, they are fed by many people, have access to hunt other food sources (rodents, monitors etc.) have enough space to move around, often have very good interactions with other dogs and people and if unhappy they can always leave and escape a bad situation. Being a roaming dog is by no means ideal, what a dog really needs is a good individual home. However it is better than a badly run shelter in a poor country. They are just out of sight but suffering nonetheless. Based on these principles we should not promote this unless confident that adequate resources can be ensured for the lifetime of the last existing dog they take in.

As a shelter does not address the root cause of the problem of why there are dogs on the street and because it does nothing to encourage responsible dog ownership and civic responsibility, it does not lead to either dog population reduction or rabies control.

• Vaccinate your dog annually
• Adopt a Sri Lankan roaming dog
• Sterilize female dogs that you do not want puppies from
• Do not take the responsibility for an animal that you cannot take care of
• Do not feed roaming dogs, instead take your scraps of leftover food home and dispose of it properly.
• Do not let organic garbage be accessible to roaming dogs – obtain dog proof bins.
• Lastly but most importantly, Do not dump your unwanted pups on the streets, in temples and hospitals and near homes of animal welfarists.