Challenges To Managing Stray Dogs

Street dogs are everywhere in Nepal. In the Kathmandu Valley alone, the number of street dogs, also known as stray dogs, is estimated to be over 19,000. Every animal has the right to live. Animal rights groups also advocate that animals, like humans, have the right to live. But street dogs are a nuisance due to a lack of management. Dogs barking at night and causing disturbances; biting people and infecting people with rabies, a fatal disease; and disturbing people in other ways indicate that it is essential to manage street dogs. 

In the past, culling – selective killing – was adopted to control the population of street dogs in the Kathmandu Valley but this strategy conked out. Now, the catch, neuter, vaccinate and release (CNVR) method has been adopted by the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC). The method is considered humane in that it focuses on capturing street dogs, sterilising them and marking the signs of sterilisation on their ear tips, vaccinating them against rabies and releasing them into the areas where they live. The CNVR method involves communities, ward-level committees, public awareness, dog shelters and adoption of local breeds of dogs. 

Canine ethology 

As per the strategy, local wards are empowered to register dogs and assign caregivers to manage the population of street dogs. Under public awareness, communities are educated about responsible pet ownership, canine ethology and benefits of humane management of street dogs. The method emphasises the establishment of proper shelters with veterinary facilities for sick or injured dogs. The method also encourages responsible pet ownership and the adoption of local breeds, and provides for microchipping dogs to track their location. This also makes it possible to identify owners if they abandon their dogs. Pet dogs are usually abandoned when they grow old or the owners do not like them, turning them into street dogs. 

The KMC has initiated the ManuMitra Programme, under which the CNVR method is used to control the population of street dogs, reduce the nuisance caused by them and prevent rabies. The KMC has decided to sterilise 10,000 street dogs in this fiscal year. The remaining dogs will be sterilised in the subsequent years. For this, a budget of Rs. 10 million has been earmarked. As per the KMC, nearly 90 per cent of the street dogs have already been vaccinated against rabies but less than 50 per cent have been sterilised. The KMC has devolved authority to wards to manage street dogs through registration, vaccination and sterilisation but most of the wards lack technical manpower and resources to manage street dogs. Lack of coordination between local levels is another setback in the management of street dogs. 

Managing street dogs is a daunting challenge for the KMC. On the one hand, street dogs enter the KMC from surrounding areas; on the other, pet dogs are abandoned in the streets. It is surmised that there are 20,000 pet dogs kept by residents of the KMC. The KMC issued a notice some months ago regarding the registration of pet dogs. But the pet dog owners gave short shrift to the notice. As a result, the efforts of the KMC to determine the number of pet dogs and microchip them have miserably failed. This shows that popular cooperation in the management of dogs, whether street dogs or pet dogs, is glaringly lacking. Microchips are tiny semiconductors with information that are inserted under the skin of animals. 

Microchipping makes it easy to locate pet dogs in case they are missing or abandoned by their owners. Registration of pet dogs entails certain charges. These two factors – identification of owners of microchipped pet dogs and registration charges – may have dissuaded the owners from registering their pet dogs. Management of street dogs is important from a public health and safety perspective. Dog bites are a grave health issue. In the Kathmandu Valley, 350 to 400 people are bitten by dogs every day. As per the Ministry of Health and Population, dog bite cases are rising every day. It is surmised that over 100 people die from dog bites in Nepal every year. 

However, the data from the Ministry shows that around two dozen people die every year. According to the WHO, around 59,000 rabies deaths occur annually in the world, with most of the victims being children and poor people. Doctors hold that not all dog bite incidents are recorded because not all the victims seek medical treatment. Out of the animal bite victims, especially dog bite victims, 40 per cent are under-15s. Children do not usually inform their parents of the dog bite incidents they have gone through for fear of scolding or injections. 

Lack of awareness

Parents may not take dog bite incidents seriously due to a lack of awareness. Some people may think that anti-rabies vaccination is not required for pet dog bites. Further, treatment of dog bites is confined to major cities. Rural areas still lack anti-rabies vaccines.   It may be noted that Nepal aims at eliminating rabies transmitted by dog bites by 2030 in line with the target set by the World Health Organisation (WHO). For this, municipalities and rural municipalities need to work against the clock to achieve the target.

 The KMC has no problems with funding. The wards should lend the KMC a hand in the management of street dogs. There should also be proper coordination between the KMC and wards. Abandonment of unwanted or older pet dogs is a major problem. Holding errant owners responsible for abandoning their pet dogs through microchipping is one of the steps for managing street dogs. Controlling the population of street dogs through the CNVR method or keeping them in shelters is the need of the hour. The KMC has built a shelter at Teku for 40 street dogs and plans to expand such shelters. After all, managing street dogs is closely related to human health and safety. As such, all should help the KMC and other local levels in the management of street dogs. 

(Maharjan has been regularly writing on contemporary issues for this daily since 2000.)