Of Dogs and Turtles

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Chinese Authorities: Take Note

 

You probably recall that the Chinese government has been killing dogs -

strays and pets - in the most brutal, heartless way to try to stem the

spread of rabies. Um, how about vaccinating?

 

Anyway, here's a different and much more humane approach to solving an

eco-problem, courtesy of the Indian government.

 

KOLKATA (Reuters) - Authorities in eastern India have decided to round up

thousands of stray dogs on the coast to stop them eating the eggs and

hatchlings of the rare Olive Ridley turtles, officials said on Wednesday.

Some 300,000 of the turtles, an endangered species, visit the beaches of

Orissa every year to lay their eggs, providing a feast for some 2,000 stray

dogs.

 

" Ahead of the important egg-laying period in February, we thought of

undertaking the population control of dogs to save the turtles, " Bishnu Pada

Sethi, director of the state veterinary and animal husbandry department,

told Reuters.

 

Hundreds of health workers will round up the dogs and sterilise them before

releasing them in villages away from areas the turtles head for, Sethi said

from state capital Bhubaneswar. The sterilisation could stop pregnant

bitches from looking for eggs to feed themselves and later their puppies.

Thousands of Olive Ridleys are also killed every year for their meat and

what many people see as their medicinal value.

 

India has banned trawlers in turtle areas off the east coast. But still

8,000 to 10,000 dead turtles are washed ashore every year after getting

caught in fishing nets, Greenpeace officials said. " When you consider that

only one out of a thousand hatchlings makes it into the sea, controlling the

dog population is one of the many efforts required to save the turtle, "

Sanjiv Gopal, a Greenpeace expert said.

 

January 18, 2007 in

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