DOG POPULATION MANAGEMENT & RABIES ERADICATION PROGRAMME

• Dog Census
• Mass Anti-Rabies Vaccination
• Sterilisation
• School Education & Public Awareness
• Rescue & Treatment
• Community Survey Questionnaire

Dog Census

• In Pokhara and Bharatpur, HART's main working cities, there was no existing dog population data.
• The technique used is a direct observational count of street dogs. This method is one of those recommended for estimating street dog populations in the ‘Guidelines for Dog Population Management’ (WHO/WSPA 1990).
• We carry out a detailed Ward by Ward census of the free roaming street dogs before we conduct the mass anti-rabies vaccination and sterilization programme.
• This census data from each Municipality Ward is used as a baseline population estimate.
• Censuses are carried out regularly to measure the effect of HART's programmes on the animal population.

Mass Anti Rabies Vaccination

• Accepted statistics determine that once more than 70% of the animal population is vaccinated the risk to the human population becomes minimal.
• Through a series of camps and mass vaccination days HART’s target is to vaccinate well over 70% of the dog population. Generally, the mass vaccination programme is conducted through systematic walks covering every lane and track of the area. Using this procedure we try to vaccinate all the dogs in the area: free-roaming, owned and semi-owned.
• This immunisation process is repeated annually.

Sterilisation

• The programme is designed to humanely reduce the free-roaming street, community and owned dog population to levels sustainable and acceptable by the community and to end the use of strychnine poisoning.
• HART adopts Catch Neuter Vaccinate Release (CNVR) protocols following visits to the Blue Paw Trust in Sri Lanka and the Indian Training Centre run by WVS in Ooty.
• HART's Community Liaison Officer (CLO) contacts the Community Development Committee in each Ward prior to work starting. If local suitable facilities are available these are used as a temporary clinic for neutering and first-aid. If facilities are not available our mobile tented clinic is used.
• HART's CLO also identifies responsible local persons to care for post-operative non-owned animals.
• Post-operative monitoring is carried out by HART staff for 5 days.
• By neutering animals in, or close to, their own territories, returning them to their owners or foster carers as soon as they have recovered from anaesthetic, and monitoring them in their communities, stress and confinement is reduced to a minimum.
• HART concentrates on spaying bitches, working methodically through areas that have been surveyed.
• There is currently no effectively proven form of chemical sterilisation but HART is monitoring developments in this field

School Education & Public Awareness

There are many animal welfare issues to be addressed. WSPA advised on our Education Programme and on the methodology for evaluating the impact.

• HART's current Education Programme currently focuses on:-
• Avoiding dog bites
• Being a responsible dog owner
• Re-evaluation of lessons already delivered took place in February 2011.
• The programme of distribution of leaflets showing how to avoid dog bites, and how to behave if bitten, will continue.
• This information has already been taken to several areas beyond HART's core working areas.
• HART appears at Municipal events whenever possible and uses radio talks and the local media to spread the message that animals are sentient and deserve respect and kindness.

Rescue & Treatment

• Sick and injured animals are rescued and treated in the locality itself as far as possible.
• A good working relationship with the local government and veterinary authorities is being developed.

Community Survey Questionnaire

• A community survey based on a questionnaire devised by WSPA is being conducted. The survey has a target to interview 900 people in Pokhara and 700 in Bharatpur.
• Interesting results from early data analysis for Bharatpur:-
• 35% of households own one or more dogs
• 63% of those dogs are allowed to roam
• Less than 3% of owned dogs have been neutered
• Almost 70% of interviewees perceived the roaming dogs numbers as increasing
• 80% saw bites and rabies as the biggest problem associated with street-dogs

Pokhara

We have completed the first phase of work in all 18 Wards of Pokhara Sub Metropolitan City (PSMC). This first phase consisted of:-

• Dog Census
• Mass Anti-Rabies Vaccination
• Catch Neuter Vaccinate Release sterilisation programme
• School Education and Awareness programme

Following the Dog Census to establish baseline data the Mass Anti-Rabies Vaccination programme was conducted in all 18 Wards. Our data indicates that we have vaccinated over 90% of all the dogs counted in the 18 Wards of PSMC.


Impact of the programme in Pokhara

Our research now reveals that the dog bite cases being reported to Pokhara hospitals for post-exposure rabies vaccinations has fallen from 30-35 cases per month to 20-25. Further, the Regional Veterinary Laboratory has stated that they have not encountered any rabies from within Pokhara during the last six months.

We are delighted to announce that the Pokhara Sub Metropolitan City (PSMC) has now signed an official agreement to work with HART. This agreement includes their cessation of the use of strychnine poisoning.


Pokhara second phase

We have now started on the second phase of work in Pokhara.

• A repeated Dog Census is now underway to evaluate the current number of spayed/unspayed bitches and to establish the total number of dogs prior to re-running the MARV and CNVR programmes.
• The Education programme is being continued. We are pleased to announce that Pokhara Sub Metropolitan City has funded the production of 154 posters illustrating the avoidance of dog bites. We will present these to schools after our classroom sessions.

Bharatpur

Following completion of the first phase of our work in Pokhara Sub Metropolitan City, HART has expanded its work into Bharatpur.

Nepal's main veterinary teaching college, Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science (IAAS), is situated at Rampur, near Bharatpur, and links have been developed to the benefit of both organisations.

Rabies is a great problem here with an average of 75 people per month visiting hospital for precautionary post-exposure anti-rabies treatment following dog bites. This is three times higher than in Pokhara despite a smaller population size.

The Bharatpur Municipality has signed an official agreement to enable HART to conduct our Dog Population Management & Rabies eradication programme. This agreement confirms the Municipality's cessation of the use of strychnine poisoning as a means of controlling the roaming dog population.

Following our agreement with the Bharatpur Municipality, the following activities have taken place:-

Census

• The Ward by Ward census has been completed.

Mass Anti Rabies Vaccination

• The Public Health Office, District Livestock Office, and Bharatpur Municipality have agreed for HART to conduct a pilot programme to vaccinate 400 free-roaming dogs in Bharatpur Municipality areas.
• The Public Health Office funded the cost of 400 anti-rabies vaccines.

Sterilisation

• Bharatpur enjoys a tropical monsoon climate, with high humidity throughout the year, so we conducted a very small pilot programme to evaluate if it would be appropriate to use the spaying methodology employed in Pokhara. This was successful so we then conducted a larger test. Again, the operations and post-operative recoveries were successful so we are now confident to run full scale spaying camps.
• We have experienced that the Bharatpur community is less willing to take care of street-dogs than we found in Pokhara, so we're working hard to raise their awareness
• HART is liasing with respective government agencies for the use of their land to hold street-dogs after surgery for those dogs where there is not a suitable community member to assume responsibility for post-operative care.
• Spaying camps will begin in late July and HART staff are widely publicising the importance of spaying owned, community and stray dogs. Chandra Rai, our Community Liaison Officer, is currently making arrangements for spaying camp venues with the various Community Development Committees.

Tented Clinic

HART Uses a mobile tented clinic to carry out sterilisation and first aid programmes in situations where a fixed operating clinic is not available.

A two day clinic was carried out in May 2011 to assist the work of Community Dog Welfare, Kopan and this will be repeated later in the year.

This service can be provided to any animal welfare group or government department that requires a rapid boost to its area of activity.