"Dawa looks like just another scruffy Thimphu street dog, but don't be fooled: he understand Dzongkaha, he has an urge to see the world and his bigger-than-normal brain is matched only by his compassionate heart. His is an extraordinary life; follow it from its tragic beginnings, to his ascension as the legendary Leader of Howling in Thimphu, to the miracle that saves him. Dawa's story will appeal to all who have experienced life's rigors - but have never given up hope on the possibilities."
New measures to control stray dog population
| Written by YESHY DOLMA | |
| “ International experiences in TVET clearly show that naming of institutes also does matter a lot in the perception of TVET programs,” - Lyonpo Dorji Wangdi June 27, 2010: Pack of howling dogs attacking a lone pedestrian at late nights doesn’t make much of news these days. So does a stray dog mauling a child. Or a tourist being deprived of his/her beauty sleep. Yet, it is time we did something about it. But then elimination or even impounding of dogs doesn’t go well at all with our Buddhist sentiments. Mass sterilization that is being implemented by the government from time to time hasn’t helped much. How do we tackle this urban animal menace? Perhaps, dog population management and rabies control project might be a solution. Launched on 27 September, jointly by the department of livestock and human society international, a US-based NGO, as one of the activities of the world rabies week, it is working towards creating a rabies-free Bhutan. The three-year project, expected to cost around Nu 46 million.Nu 23 Million were invested by royal government of Bhutan while other half of Nu 23 was invested by the HSI for the three year pilot project. Bhutan foundation also contributed toward the dog population control. The foundation called Royal Society for the Protection and Care of Animal (RSPCA) was the first organization to come forward to the rescue of stray animals in the country. RSPCA is non profit organization delicates for the welfare of the animal. RSPCA works with jointly with the department of livestock and Jangsa Animal Trust and Druk Odiyana. The organization will work together for the care and and humane treatment of the animals .The World Health Organization (WHO) expert recommended in 2004 that at least 75% vaccination coverage to break rabies cycle and 75% sterization coverage to maintain sustainable dog population. The capture neutral vaccination and release (CNVR) was introduced as a nation-wide program on 28 September, 2009. The CNVR was jointly initiated by Dol and HSI and a four-month pilot project was introduced in Thimphu. The main objective of capture neutral vaccination and release (CNVR) is to cover all the country and make Bhutan a rabies-free country. The CNVR is a nation-wide strategy covering at least 80% of the stray dogs through out the country. The project was launched in Bumthang on 27 September, 2009. The CNVR was then introduced in Paro and Punakha. It is assumed that there are 50,000 stray dogs in the country and the CNVR expects to cover 48, 000 of the dogs during the three-year project period. The sterilization of dogs was started in 2008. The four-month pilot program sterilized about 3200 dogs. The CNVR is being implemented in Sarpang, Wangdue and Chukha and is expected to cover all the 20 dzongkags by 2013. The CNVR is being led by a team comprising three veterinary doctors, four paravets, four dog catchers and one driver. The team will stay for four months in each dzongkhag. Poor public awareness, insufficient budget and long open porous border seem to be some of the problems faced by the department of livestock to control rabies and stray dog population. |
