Fwd: Stop The Killing of 40,000 Dogs in Penang.
sembang sembang
sembang sembang
sembang sembang
Memorandum to the Chief Minister of Penang
YAB Tuan Lim Guan Eng
18th September 2015
THE ORDER GIVEN TO KILL ANY DOG FOUND ON THE STREETS OF PENANG
We refer to the Penang State government's order made at a press conference on the morning of Sep 17th,for the state Veterinary Department to capture and dispose of any dogs found on the streets of Penang, due to Penang being declared a rabies outbreak area.
In Penang's bid to become an international intelligent city, we feel that such an inhumane, outdated and ineffective (both in cost and in targeted outcome) measure such as the indiscriminate culling of all street dogs should not be given consideration over more effective, cost-effective, and coordinated measures based on evidence-based research from the fields of veterinary medicine, human medical and community health.
Majority of credible international research has documented the effectiveness of previous as well as current ongoing mass vaccination programs in other countries.
Moreover, mass culling of stray animals is a blatantly unethical, and an outright violation of animal welfare. In many countries, it is illegal and unconstitutional (see:http://www.hsi.org/…/keralas-stray-dog-cull-illegal-072315.…).
Other countries/cities that have implemented mass culling initiatives have received criticisms and scorns from the international community, when mass vaccination in the model of “Trap-Vaccinate-Release” is unanimously recommended -
(On mass culling: http://time.com/4622/sochi-olympics-dogs/;
(On community-basedvaccination programs: http://www.huffingtonpost.in/…/the-problem-of-plenty-man_b_…)
To back these statements, we would like to respectfully draw your attention to studies and advice from the WHO and other organisations with vast experience dealing with and eliminating rabies:
1. From the Canine Rabies Blueprint, a step-by-step action blueprint specifically for rabies outbreak areas states, "Indiscriminate elimination campaigns of unconfined dogs is not recommended. It is ineffective,unpopular and may increase the risk of rabies spread as dog owners may be encouraged to move their dogs from infected to uninfected areas where no culling is taking place. It also diverts time and resources away from dog vaccination, which is the most effective way of handling the outbreak.Culling should be restricted to suspect rabid dogs and unvaccinated contact dogs (i.e.bitten by suspect rabid dogs) following published guidelines, provided here and here."
http://caninerabiesblueprint.org/5-4-20-What-do-we-need-to-…
2. WHO Expert Consultation on Rabies states "Effective animal vaccines that provide a considerable duration of immunity have been developed and mass parenteral vaccination programmes remain the mainstay of canine rabies control. Dog destruction alone is not effective in rabies control." "Mass canine vaccination campaigns have been the most effective measure for controlling canine rabies. Since the 1980s, national mass canine vaccination campaigns have been
conducted generally on an annual basis in Latin America, with high coverage (around 80%)
achieved in a short period of time (no more than 1 week). Over the region, approximately 45
million dogs a year have been vaccinated, resulting in significant declines in canine and
human rabies." "The success and sustainability of these campaigns in Latin America have been due to political commitment, acquisition and supply of canine vaccines by the ministries of health, free delivery of these vaccines, local-level commitment in the planning and execution of the
campaigns and effective coordination and supervision of the campaigns by the health services."
http://www.who.int/rabies/animal/ExcerptTRS931.pdf
3. The WHO and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Fund coordinated project to eliminate rabies in Tanzania, Philippines and South Africa states: "Massive dog killing is not an effective method of controlling rabies. It is even hypothesized that such mass culling will lead to a rapid compensation through better survival of the fittest (more healthy dogs) and the immigration of new dogs. This project therefore focuses on the control and eventual elimination of human and dog rabies using humane and ethical methods."
http://www.who.int/rabies/bmgf_who_project/en/
4. August 2013 study on the elimination of rabies in Bali,Indonesia states: "The elimination of rabies from Bali will not be achieved through achievable reductions in dog density. To ensure elimination, concerted high coverage, repeated, mass dog vaccination campaigns are necessary and the cooperation of all regions of the island is critical. Momentum is building towards development of a strategy for the global elimination of canine rabies, and this study offers valuable new insights about the dynamics and control of this disease, with immediate practical relevance."
http://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article…
5. WHO Media Centre on Rabies - updated September 2015 states: "The average cost of rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) can be the cost of catastrophic expenses for poor populations, since a course of PEP can cost US$ 40 in Africa and US$ 49 in Asia, where the average daily income isabout US$ 1–2 per person.
Prevention - Eliminating rabies in dogs: Rabies is a vaccine-preventable disease. Vaccinating dogs is the most cost-effective strategy for preventing rabies in people. Dog vaccination will drive down not only the deaths attributable to rabies but also the need for PEP as a part of dog bite patient care."
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs099/en/
6. Bohol (Philippines) Rabies Prevention & Elimination program states: "The Bohol Rabies Prevention and Elimination Program (BRPEP) was initiated by the Provincial Government of Bohol in 2007 aiming to eliminate Rabies in the island by 2010. Covering the 1,109 barangays of the 47 municipalities and 1 city, it intended to protect its 1.2 Million human population as well as its dog population."
Bohol started out with 10 human deaths of rabies a year to only 5 a year later and is now 0 for both dogs and humans.
Even in Bohol, in impoverished Philippines, which started out with 10 human rabies deaths a year, had stated clearly in their aims that they wanted to protect both humans and dogs. And they managed it in a space of a few years.
http://opv.bohol.gov.ph/?page_id=280
7. In a study conducted by Humane Society on rabies in a number of developing countries (Jackman, J., & Rowan, A. (2007). Free-roaming dogs in developing countries: The benefits of capture, neuter, and return program. Washington, DC: Humane Society Press) - evidence on effectiveness of the “trap-vaccinate-return” model was clearly documented and supported by international organizations such as Humane Society and WHO: “mass vaccination campaigns and improvements in post exposure treatment have significantly reduced dog and human rabies cases”; “Most experts agree that dog-vaccination campaigns are a more cost effective approach to rabies prevention than is post exposure treatment alone (Cleaveland1998; Kitala et al. 2001, 2003; Wilde, Khawplod, and Khamoltham 2005).Canine-vaccination programs cost 25–56 percent of postexposure treatments(Bogel and Meslin 1990).”
Additionally, according to WHO, “Rabies control in dogs remains the only long-term, cost-effective means of eliminating or preventing most human cases. Human public health preventive measures should be paralleled by programmes for dog rabies control.”
Linkto article: http://animalstudiesrepository.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi…
If Philippines, with a GDP per capita of only US$2,800 (compared to Malaysia GDP per capita of US$10,800 in 2014), I am sure that Penang can follow these models with even greater success and can be a model for the other countries in Asia who are still battling the problem (usually with ineffective measures such as indiscriminate culling of dogs).
We hope that the State government would do the following:
1. Stop the directive to kill all stray dogs at once
2. The quarantine of animals in Penang should remain.
3. Investigate origins of the rabies outbreak and identify the high risk areas.
4. Implement mass vaccination starting with the high riskareas.
5. Seek advice from different sources other than the ones it relied on previously to formulate this indiscriminate killing campaign
6. Engage with stakeholders and the community to formulate a plan to eradicate rabies, as well as control and reduce the stray dog population simultaneously.
We have provided many resources, case studies and examples above on how to control and prevent rabies the proper way and have already raised upto RM400,000 in donations for a stray dog rabies vaccination fund in less than 12 hours. This shows that the public is committed to wanting to address both rabies as well as the issue of stray dog population in Penang, in the most effective, cost effective and humane way.
We have also been in contact with stray dog and cat feeders, many of whom have spent their savings to spay and neuter the animals under their care. These people are very engaged and are also eager to help implement a mass vaccination and spay/neuter program.
We are willing to help and would like to ask for the State to please consider these alternative options.
Let's work together for a more progressive and forward-thinking Penang!
Thank you
Yours sincerely,
Committee Members of Stop the Killing Group (coalition of NGOs)
NGOs represented as of 1pm 18th September 2015 are 4PAWS, SOS, SPCA Seberang Perai, SPCA Kulim, TNRM, Fur Kidsfarm KL, Zero Strays Miri, Cat Beach, Noah’s Ark Ipoh, Second Chance Animal Society, SPCA Kedah
Dalbinder Singh Gill
Lim Li Lian
Ooi Yu Li
Vaneytha Paremeswari
Constance Ching