Punjab to manage dogs’ population

ISLAMABAD: The government of Punjab is all set to shift from culling of rabid dogs to dog population management, The News has learnt.

The Punjab cabinet on Monday approved the Dog Birth Policy 2021 regarding dog population management, revealed Vice Chancellor of University of Veterinary Punjab Masood Rabbani. “It’s a paradigm shift from dog killing to dog population management,” said Rabbani.

This Dog Birth Control Policy 2021 was formulated with the objective to reduce stray dog population through neutering, reduce incidences of dog bites and rabies through vaccination and promote changes in human behaviour towards stray dogs by not killing them.

Prof Masood said the total population of stray dogs in Punjab is over 460,000 and it could cost the Punjab government around Rs 350 million to vaccinate them. “If the TNVR (Trap Nueter Vaccinate and Return) is carried out across Pakistan to control rabies and stray dog population, it could cost the government over Rs 600 million,” added Prof Masood.

The data shares with this correspondent by Rabbani unfolds that Punjab has procured a total of 283,540 anti-rabies doses and around 230,000 doses for nueterization of rabid dogs for their population control and the departments like Livestock and Dairy Development (L&DD) Punjab are ready for inoculation. Around 243 dogs have been neutered and almost 303 dogs were vaccinated during Sep 2021, shows the data. Male aged above six months are being neutralized and above 3 months (both male & female) are being vaccinated.

In addition, consultative sessions regarding controlling of dangerous animals including stray dogs are also being done to ensure public safety. The UVAS & L&DD Department has conducted one training session on capturing of dogs, involving all district officers of L&DD and local government staff.

Further, comprehensive data of 36 focal persons, field veterinarians, contact details, etc. for stray dogs neutering, vaccination and tagging is also shared with the Health & Local Government Departments and 158 L&DD staffers got vaccinated against rabies by the Health Department, reveals the data.

The exact population of stray dogs in the country is also not known. However, The News came to know from official sources that the total number of stray dogs in Punjab stood at around 470,000 in 2019. With the worsening situation of rabies in the country, experts suggest that a unified strategy must be adopted by all provinces to counter the deadly virus. Adequate supply of anti-rabies vaccines to all clinics, sterilization and birth control system of stray dogs and awareness regarding post-exposure treatment among the public and local clinics are the three major steps that need to be focused in Pakistan to make it a rabies-free country.