Guest Comments by Lisa Warden
Editor's Note: The writer is managing director of ABC India, a trust of animal welfare organizations and technical specialists intent on rabies eradication and humane dog-population management through a national ABC (animal birth control) program.
ANDHRA PRADESH, India – Since a rabies outbreak in northern Andhra Pradesh starting in May that led to more than 20 human deaths and the killing of thousands of dogs, the state government has issued orders mandating in detail the steps to be taken to address the issue.
These orders stand as a first of their kind in India, including, as they do, a detailed preamble articulating the World Health Organization's recommended approach to rabies eradication and dog-population management. For example, the document says that indiscriminate destruction of stray dogs is neither successful, nor desirable. It adds that the displacement and dumping of dogs on city outskirts or in unpopulated areas only compounds the problems and helps rabies to spread.
The state government launched an ongoing mass anti-rabies vaccination drive aimed at street dogs. After recent mass killing of dogs by municipal authorities in Kakinada for about two weeks in June, Andhra Pradesh authorities re-issued strict and repeated orders to all municipalities and districts to refrain from killing dogs.
Unfortunately, killings continue in areas without well-informed advocacy communities to protest. Our recent research in a cross-section of urban, semi-urban and rural areas in northern Andhra Pradesh produces a grim picture. Well after the government orders (issued on June 6) to stop killing dogs, the killings continued. Our poll indicates that up to 3,000 dogs were killed in those areas alone. Poll participants said that as many as 80 per cent of the dogs in their areas died. The killing methods included electrocution, strychnine injections, strangling and bludgeoning.
When asked “why”, the respondents said that constant media reports about the “stray dog menace” and human rabies-deaths had led the local authorities to order a deadly approach. Dog-bite incidents triggered some killings. Only one surveyed area in which the dog killings happened had any reported human rabies-deaths.
What clearly emerges is a need for mass-awareness programs along with the ongoing anti-rabies vaccination drive. Despite the extremely progressive government orders, a widespread belief remains that killing dogs is the correct way to address dog bites and the rabies threat. Really, the opposite is true. Destabilizing the dog populations by culls or displacement worsens matters.
ABC India, with assistance from Help Animals India and the Maria Norbury Foundation, will launch an awareness drive with street-theatre performances followed by question-and-answer sessions and the distribution of awareness flyers about rabies and how to avoid dog-bites. Educator and author Shamalatha Rao has written and provided a play about how to prevent rabies, why killing dogs isn't the answer, how to co-exist peacefully with street dogs and what to do if bitten by a dog. It will be performed at 20 semi-urban and rural locations.
Street theatre, a popular and compelling way to raise awareness and educate in India, stems from antiquity and is highly effective, especially in areas with low literacy rates. Any additional funding may allow performances in more places.
Now that the mass anti-rabies vaccination of street dogs has started, we need widespread awareness and education so that people will understand that a stable, vaccinated dog population helps against rabies. Likewise, a mass dog-sterilization is crucial to stabilize and eventually reduce the dog numbers. In these ways, rabies can be eradicated and human-dog conflicts significantly alleviated.
For more information: www.abcindia.org.in
ARCHIVES
|
Animal Birth Control (ABC) offers a fix
for rabies and dog-bite problems.
|
