Deccan Herald

[Guest guest]

The Deccan Herald just published the following, in which I

was relatively accurately quoted, but grossly far out of context--

 

>Dog-control is vital

>By Matilda Yorke

[EXCERPT]

>SDFB quotes Meritt Clinton, editor, Animal People: " Animal welfare

>organisations should not be undertaking animal control, as they did

>in the US more than 100 years ago and greatly retarded progress.

>This (dog control) is a civic service, like providing police and

>fire protection, and should be funded and administered in the same

>manner " .

 

 

My response, posted to the Deccan Herald web site--

 

 

Matilda Yorke and Stray Dog Free Bangalore could not have

more grossly and flagrantly misrepresented my advice pertaining to

street dogs and Animal Birth Control.

Indeed, the job of animal control should not be left to the

limited resources of nonprofit humane societies, whose charitable

mandate is to protect animals from neglect and abuse. Protecting the

public is properly the function of well-funded tax-supported agencies.

However, killing street dogs in high volume is the most

self-defeating and futile of all possible animal control

strategies--and impounding street dogs in high volume would be

equally self-defeating. Persons advocating such things are in effect

advocating for making the present problems far worse.

India has street dogs and will always have street dogs until

such time as improved sanitation eliminates their habitat niche. For

the same reason, India has street monkeys, street pigs, feral cats,

and countless numbers of rats, all of whom will rapidly expand into

any habitat vacated by dogs. The presence of street dogs is the

greatest limiting factor on the abundance of the other species who

survive on human refuse, and among them all, dogs are by far the

easiest species for humans to co-exist with.

Until such time as Indian sanitation reduces the carrying

capacity of the habitat, the most viable approach to limiting and

reducing the street dog population is high-volume sterilization and

anti-rabies vaccination--and, incidentally, anti-rabies vaccination

should be done with the three-year vaccine, widely available for more

than a decade. Anyone still using or recommending vaccines which

require annual revaccination is making the job three times harder

than it needs to be, and should be removed from any position of

authority.

The most effective control of rabies and dog bites is a

sterilized and vaccinated dog population. At 70% sterilized and

vaccinated, rabies will not spread and the dog population will be

stabilized. The parts of Bangalore that are served by the Animal

Rights Fund, CUPA, and Karuna ABC programs were at that level when I

personally walked many neighborhoods of Bangalore doing my own dog

census in January 2007.

Pushing on to 80% and even 90%-plus, and extending ABC

farther into the suburbs will further reduce the risk of rabies, and

will cause the dog population to drop fairly quickly, since the

average life expectancy of a street dog is only about three years

(although a well-fed dog who does not have to dodge traffic can live

five times longer.)

Incidentally, the dog who is by far most likely to bite is an

owned, chained, under-socialized dog. Street dogs learn young to

avoid confrontation. Owned dogs, on the other hand, tend to develop

an exaggerated sense of territoriality, especially if chained, which

tends to greatly increase their inclination to bite.

Of note is that the rates of dog bite in India, where most

dogs run free, and in the U.S., where almost no dogs run free, are

virtually identical, at approximately 1 bite requiring treatment per

63 humans per year.

The notion that Indians will be at less risk of dog bite if

street dogs are eliminated is an illusion--and indeed, current Indian

data suggests that about half of all bites are by the minority of

dogs who are in fact pets, not street dogs. --Merritt Clifton,

editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE. [www.animalpeoplenews.org]

 

 

Posted by : Merritt Clifton

Posted On :7/25/2007

 

 

 

--

Merritt Clifton

Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE

P.O. Box 960

Clinton, WA 98236

 

Telephone: 360-579-2505

Fax: 360-579-2575

E-mail: anmlpepl

Web: www.animalpeoplenews.org

 

[ANIMAL PEOPLE is the leading independent newspaper providing

original investigative coverage of animal protection worldwide,

founded in 1992. Our readership of 30,000-plus includes the

decision-makers at more than 10,000 animal protection organizations.

We have no alignment or affiliation with any other entity. $24/year;

for free sample, send address.]