Fw: Appeal for letters of support]

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends,

 

last year we had much hope in the words of the Health Minister, and many of you

have posted letters to him, but we had no response from him. Now we have hope in

our new President and our sister-organisation in Colombo is suggesting to start

another letter-campaign again. Even though one feels doubtful after so much

disappointment, let's try again.

 

-

Rohini

Eva Ruppel

Wednesday, May 17, 2006 4:15 AM

[Fwd: Appeal for letters of support]

 

 

 

 

-------- Ursprüngliche Nachricht -------- Betreff: Appeal for letters of

support

Datum: Tue, 16 May 2006 22:56:30 +0530

Von: Sagarica Rajakarunanayake <sagarica

An: rohinats

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sathva Mithra

(Friends of Animals)

 

73/28 Sri Saranankara Place Dehiwela, Sri Lanka Tel: 2735182, 5511545 Fax:

5527716

E-mail: sathvamithralanka

 

May 16, 2006

 

An urgent appeal to help stop cruel killing of dogs in Sri Lanka

 

Background

 

Sri Lanka, although a largely Buddhist country, has a very bad record with

regard to cruelty to animals, especially dogs. Still following a Rabies

Prevention Law of 1893, dogs are still routinely seized and killed by gassing or

the injecting of painful and lethal poisons. Some of this killing is done in

public, causing much revulsion.

 

Appeals by Animal Rights Activists to introduce more humane methods for the

eradication of rabies; which has shown a marked drop due to increased

vaccination in recent years; and carry out the sterilizing and neutering of dogs

to control dog population growth have fallen on the deaf ears of local officials

and politicians. In cities such as Colombo and Kandy, the Municipal

Authorities, on occassion have seized even the dogs that have been vaccinated or

sterilized, by Animal Rights Organizations, with red colours on them to show it,

and killed them. Many thousands of dogs are cruelly killed in Sri Lanka every

year.

 

Your support

 

Sri Lanka's new President, Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa, in keeping with an election

pledge to have strict laws against cruelty to animals, issued an order earlier

this month (May 2006) that the cruel killing of dogs for rabies eradication and

dog population control should be stopped, and more humane methods introduced.

 

He gave this direction, as part of the celebrations to mark the 2550th birthday

of the Buddha, the greatest preacher of compassion and tolerance, who opposed

the taking of all life. The President said officials should stop the cruel

killing of dogs and begin replacing it with more modern, scientific and humane

methods such as mass vaccination of dogs against rabies and the sterilization of

dogs. He was responding to appeals made to him by members Sri Lanka's Buddhist

clergy and animal rights activists.

 

In order to strengthen the hand of the President, against political forces and

vested interests, who are keen to continue the outdated, cruel seize and policy

with regard to dogs, we appeal to you to originate letters to him, showing

appreciation of his initiative against cruelty to animals, especially dogs, and

urging him to bring in new legislation, that will recommend modern, scientific

and humane methods for rabies eradication and dog population control.

 

Every letter received by him will strengthen his determination to implement more

fully and effectively his pledge to bring stringent laws against cruelty to

animals, which he has described in his policy statement as an act of savagery.

 

Please pass this message to your friends too.

 

Address your letters to:

 

H. E. Mahinda Rajapaksa

President of Sri Lanka

" Temple Trees "

Colombo

Sri Lanka

 

You can send an e-mail stating " Attention President Rajapakse " to

addlcos

 

Or send a fax message to

 

+ 94 11 2542919

 

Shall be grateful if you would send a copies of your letter to:

editor

prabath

 

This will hive much needed local publicity to your support.

 

Please send a BCC of your e-mails and copies of your fax messages to:

sathvamithralanka

ATTN> Sagarica Rajakarunanayake

 

We look forward very much to your support.

 

Thank you.

 

Sincerely

 

Sagarica Rajakarunanayake

President

" Sathva Mithra " - Friends of Animals

Sri Lanka

 

For additional information on the subject read following article published on

6th April 2006:

 

 

Sathva Mithra

 

 

 

73/28 Sri Saranankara Place, Dehiwela

 

Tel: 2735182, Fax: 5527716

 

E-mail: sagarica

 

 

 

Killing continues without promised legislation

 

 

 

On the 4th August 2005, Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva announced the

introduction of a " No Kill " policy with regard to stray dogs in the eradication

of rabies by Local Government bodies. He stated that he was aware that the

system of " Seize and Kill " implemented by the authorities for more than a

century was cruel and had also proved to be ineffective in the prevention of

rabies and the control of dog populations. The Minister stated that President

Chandrika Kumaratunga had instructed him to prepare a cabinet paper proposing

government policy regarding elimination of rabies. She had also wanted the

Minister to base his policy on a " 12 Point Plan " which was never shown to Animal

Welfare organizations that have called for a " No Kill " policy for several years.

 

 

 

The minister stated that with the introduction of the " No Kill " policy the

indiscriminate killing of dogs will be stopped and instead dogs will be

immunized and sterilized.

 

 

 

The Minister announced this " No Kill " policy at a high profile event organized

by an Animal Welfare organization held at the Colombo Plaza in the presence of

some of the glitterati of Colombo. Vimukthi Kumaratunga, son of President

Chandrika Kumaratunga, a special guest at this event, made his debut as a public

figure calling for a " No Kill " policy. The more experienced Animal Welfare

organizations that have been consistent in their call for a " No Kill " policy

were excluded from this event.

 

 

 

Now Animal Welfare organizations and a concerned public question what the great

haste was on the part of the Minister to announce the " No Kill " policy in August

2004, because today, eight months since the Minister announced it, a Bill to

give effect to this policy has still not been brought to Parliament. Local

government bodies continue to strictly follow the Rabies Ordinance, and kill

dogs. Queries made of the Minister by Animal Welfare organizations regarding the

proposed " No Kill " policy and the delay in bringing it to Parliament, have

remained unanswered. The Minister has remained tight lipped on this, except on

one or two occasions where he was reported saying that a cabinet paper was being

prepared for a " No Kill' Bill. He has added that local government authorities

should respect a cabinet paper and it is not correct for them to go ahead and

kill animals when the Bill is in a formative stage.

 

 

 

Although the Minister tries to place the burden on the Local Government

authorities by stating they should obey a cabinet paper for a " No Kill " Bill,

these authorities say they have not been informed of such a cabinet paper either

by the Ministry of Health or the Ministry of Provincial Councils. Several

Provincial Councils when asked have said they dislike the present system of the

brutal killing of dogs and would welcome a " No Kill " Policy but they cannot act

on the proposal announced by the Minister until the present law now in operation

which requires the seizing and elimination of stray dogs, is revised or

replaced.

 

 

 

The Minister is therefore seen to be taking a contradictory position of

declaring a " No Kill " policy while at the same time failing to revise or replace

the old Rabies Ordinance which calls for the killing of stray dogs by local

government authorities and does not recognize vaccination and sterilization as

methods of preventing the spread of rabies.

 

 

 

Although the Minister wants Animal Welfare organizations to play a significant

role in the control of dog population through animal birth control programmes,

surprisingly he also allows local government bodies to obstruct such work. On

the recommendation of the Health Ministry the WHO has provided funds to an

Animal Welfare organization for sterilizations. For several years Animal Welfare

organizations have been carrying out dog sterilization programmes in Kandy,

Colombo and the suburbs, spending a large amount of funds. However, despite the

promotion of sterilization by the Minister and the WHO, the Municipalities of

Colombo and Kandy refuse to show any regard for sterilization programmes done by

animal Welfare organizations. In fact they have shown severe resistance to these

programmes and resort even to deliberately disrupting and destroying the efforts

of Animal Welfare organizations, by seizing and killing dogs sterilized by them.

 

 

 

In Kandy, some months ago the Municipality, on a claim of an outbreak of rabies

which they have not yet substantiated, massacred around three hundred dogs that

were both vaccinated and sterilized at a great cost by a humanitarian

organization successfully carrying on a sterilization project for the last three

years. Apart from the unspeakable brutality meted out to the dogs and the

enormous wastage of the funds spent on these dogs by the voluntary organization,

the destruction of these immunized dogs left Kandy vulnerable to invasion by

unknown, infected dogs from outside coming to fill the void left by the

massacred dogs. The Animal Welfare organizations of Kandy appealed to the

Governor and the Chief Minister of the Central Province both of whom asked the

KMC to stop killing dogs and disrupting the sterilization project. But the KMC

refused to heed them by taking up the position that they are bound to follow the

Rabies Ordinance, which according to them requires local Government authorities

to seize and destroy dogs.

 

 

 

In Colombo, the CMC when asked say they do not seize and kill dogs anymore. The

fact is that they seize dogs on complaints by the public. Based on alleged

complaints the CMC has started various strategies to disrupt sterilization

programmes carried out by Animal Welfare Organizations. Dog catchers are sent

to seize dogs to places where sterilization programmes are in progress and catch

dogs, disrupting the programme. Dog catchers are also sent to areas where dogs

have been recently sterilized to seize dogs, including the sterilized ones.

Therefore, the position in Colombo is that Animal Welfare organizations are

prevented from carrying out sterilizations and vaccinations to control the dog

population in the city and eradicate rabies, because of the continued seize and

kill policy followed by the CMC.

 

 

 

With the Kandy and Colombo Municipal Councils going all out to kill dogs,

refusing to heed the Minister's call for a no kill policy, he cannot afford to

sit on the fence anymore. The CMC and KMC are preventing these major cities

from having scientific and humane methods recommended by the WHO, and confining

them to the archaic, inhumane and ineffective system of seizing and killing

dogs. Further, in order to get public support for their brutal policy of killing

dogs, the CMC has resorted to creating a fear psychosis among people, making out

that the stray dog which is actually a community dog living among people, to be

fierce, dangerous and infected with rabies. The truth is that it is friendly,

always seeking companionship from people and rarely attacks unless provoked. In

fact 90% of dog bites reported in government hospitals are by domestic dogs and

not stray dogs.

 

 

 

By remaining silent and failing to replace the outdated rabies Ordinance the

Minister must also take the blame for keeping out from the country progressive

thinking and strategies developed by the WHO and international humanitarian

organizations. It is time the Minister also turned his attention to the Mahinda

Chintana where the President has identified rabies among other communicable

diseases such as malaria, polio and dengue, and wants programmes to be

implemented for their eradication. Mahinda Chintana stresses the importance of

both the preventive and curative aspects in dealing with these diseases and

states that the Health Ministry should make the necessary allocations for the

preventive aspect of diseases. Vaccination and sterilization of dogs are the two

principal preventive measures in the case of rabies.

 

 

 

With regard to cruelty to animals the Mahinda Chintana states: " I consider

cruelty to animals a disgrace on humanity. I therefore propose to amend, without

delay, the outdated laws on prevention of cruelty of animals. " If the Minister

of Health is serious about following and implementing Mahinda Chintana, he must

at least now put a stop to the brutal treatment of dogs by Local Government

authorities, by replacing the archaic law on rabies control with new

legislation.

 

 

 

The Minister must without any further delay, enact a new anti-rabies law that

has a " No Kill " policy and promotes scientific and humanitarian methods of

rabies control. In this he must take the views of Animal Welfare organizations,

which he has failed to do up to now.

 

..

 

Sagarica Rajakarunanayake

 

Sathva Mithra

 

 

 

April 07, 2006