KMC begins vaccination, campaign for street dogs

Apr 21, 2016- Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has started the first ever vaccination drive for street dogs in the Capital.

Dubbed the Manumitra Campaign, it is aimed at managing the population of street dogs in Kathmandu by steralising and vaccinating them  against rabies. Humane Society International (HSI) and Jane Godall Institute (JGI) are supporting the initiative.

The drive was formally launched from Singha Durbar, the country’s administrative hub, on Wednesday in an event at the presence of Livestock Development Minister Shanta Manavi. She praised the KMC’s initiative and said that it should be implemented across the country.

KMC will run the drive in all 35 wards of Kathmandu and it is expected to take three years. According to the census conducted by HSI, there are around 22,000 street dogs within the city limits of Kathmandu alone.

Andrew Rowan, the CEO of HSI, said Nepal became one of the few South Asian countries to launch the campaign. He noted that Bhutan and some cities in India have successfully implemented programmes to manage street dogs.

Threat of  stray dogs to public safety and health has always been a challenge both in Kathmandu and many other parts of the country. 

Annually, 30,000 anti-rabies vaccines are used on people bitten by dogs. In the Capital alone, nearly 2,000 people are bitten by dogs in a year.

KMC Chief and Executive Officer said the street dog management campaign was also linked with public health. He said Kathmandu will not be an ideal city unless it has vaccinated and managed its four-footed street dwellers.

Published: 21-04-2016 09:45