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What’s next for the invading canines?

24 January 2010


Dog pound in Bumthang

What has years of vaccination, sterilization, and impounding of dogs achieved? Where have the dog pounds gone wrong? What next for the dog population that simply refuses to come down? Sonam Pelden finds out.

The infamous impounding of dogs has proved a vicious cycle of sickness and death for the canines. Livestock offices around the country are exploring all possible means to make the stray dogs less harmful by neutering them and encouraging adoption from the pounds. However, over the years, thousands of them have ended up in the pounds in which hundreds have died miserable deaths. The impounding and resulting hunger, sickness and death have not helped reduce the dog population in the country, though.

The dog population in the country was estimated to be around 50,000 when the government started impounding in late 2007. More than two years down the line, the figure is still the same although caretakers at most pounds say dogs have died in large numbers in the pounds. Hundreds of dogs have died in the pounds due to lack of proper nourishment, shelter and care.

The government decided to impound the dogs to rid the towns of a persistent nuisance and to achieve 100 percent vaccination and sterilization to curb the risk of rabies. The National Assembly in 2007 urged all the agencies, dzongkhags, gewogs and the public to support and cooperate in controlling the stray dog population and making the urban areas free of stray dogs by December 2007.

However, the well-intentioned plan went astray when impounding of dogs led to starvation, sickness, death and cannibalism among the canines. Today, there are 54 pathetic-looking dogs in the Bumthang pound. Smeared with their own faeces, the dogs look malnourished and emaciated. Some two and a half years back, the pound had about 370 dogs. While most have died, some escaped.

The dogs in the pound are fed twice a day a regular diet of rice porridge, dry fish, oil and salt. But the stone troughs at the sides of the pound are half-filled with unappetizing porridge. Although the caretaker claims to be cleaning the pound at least thrice a week, it is filled with dog faeces filling the whole vicinity with stench. Pine needles are spread throughout the pound to keep it warm.

The dog pound in Serbithang, Thimphu, is a little better. The 80 odd dogs looked after by Jangsa Animal Saving Trust, a non-profit charitable trust, look healthier compared to the 75 others taken care of by a private sponsor located adjacent to the Jangsa pound. The dogs in Serbithang pound bask in the sun during the day and have a shelter to sleep at night. The caretaker even plays music for them.

While Jangsa feeds the 80 dogs rice porridge and meat twice a day, the 75 dogs are fed plain rice and salt. Some 30 to 40 dogs die of old age and diseases, said the caretaker, Tenzin. The situation is almost the same in all the dog pounds across the country. However, the good news is that the government has stopped impounding more dogs. The pounds will be emptied eventually.

The district livestock officer of Pemagatshel, B N Sharma, claims that all 160 dogs in the Pemagatshel pound are healthy and well looked after. But since impounding started in July 2008, 40 dogs have died and 10 escaped. “There are people who are interested to keep their dogs in the pound but the government doesn’t encourage it anymore,” he said. The initial plan of the livestock department to build pounds in the municipalities of all 20 dzongkhags to address the nationwide stray dog problem could not be achieved. Currently, there are 20 dog pounds in the country with more than one pound in some dzongkhags. However, only about 6,000 dogs could be sterilized.

Since impounding proved a failure, the livestock department and Humane Society International, the world’s largest non-governmental animal protection organization, in February last year started a Nu 46 million project called ‘Catch, Neuter, Vaccinate and Release’ (CNVR), which is expected to be completed in three years. CNVR is an internationally proven scientific method of controlling dog population.

The outcome of the idea to impound dogs, which was an interim measure, is nil, according to the coordinator of CNVR, Dr Hiruka Mahat. “We have realized that dogs are territorial, and they cannot be confined in one place,” he said, acknowledging that impounding dogs was a mistake. Dog impounding has been an economic loss, and it has compromised the economic welfare of the dogs. “The budget implication was huge,” said Dr Hiruka, adding that the result of encouraging dog adoption from the pounds was also nil.

The government has stopped further impounding, and the dogs already in the pounds would be released eventually. The 1.15 acre mesh-wire fenced Memelakha dog pound in Thimphu, the first and the biggest in the country, was the first to be emptied in April 2009 following reports of gruesome hunger and cannibalism among the canines. The ghastly stories of dog pounds in Memelakha and Serbithang provoked a chain of public criticism and outcry. At one time, there were reports of deaths of hundreds of dogs in the Memelakha pound every month.

In February last year, there were reports of diseased carcasses of dogs from the Serbithang pound dumped into a stream which is used by labourers downstream for cooking, drinking and washing. The decomposing carcasses of at least a dozen dogs indiscriminately thrown on the banks of the stream posed serious threats to the health of the people living downstream. Following fierce public criticism about the failure of dog pounds, the cabinet instructed the department of livestock to come out with a long-term, sustainable proposal. The result was CNVR.

The impounded dogs are going to be freed but the pounds are going to be used by NGOs in the future as a shelter for sick dogs, according to Tenzin Dendup, the Director of the livestock department. The pounds could be used in the future for quarantining and medical purposes in case of any disease outbreak, said the livestock office of Bumthang. CNVR project aims to neuter 80 percent of 50,000 dogs (48,000) in three years. Dr Hiruka said that he was optimistic about a successful completion of the project.

Studies have proven that the dog population will get stabilized if 80 percent of the dogs are neutered, said Tenzin Dendup. The 20 percent of the population will keep breeding. “This project will not totally wipe out the dog population, or else, there will be problems with rodents,” he said, adding that eradication of dogs will also cause ecological imbalance. Till date, the project has sterilized more than 4,000 dogs in Thimphu and 1,300 in Bumthang. It has recently gone to Paro, after which it will be taken to Punakha and other parts of the country.

Meanwhile, to make the country rabies free, the livestock department has a plan for oral vaccine for dogs for which it is seeking support from the World Organization for Animal Health. The department is seeking 80,000 doses of vaccine annually for the next three years. Eliminating rabies in dogs is considered the ultimate control method for preventing spread of the disease.

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