International Conference organised by Kacpaw and WSPA 7and 8September

[Guest guest]

I have received an invitation to the International Conference on Humane

stray dog control for the Effective eradication of rabies in Sri lanka. "

 

I am surprised to note thatDirector Public health Veterinary Services

P.A.LHarischandra is due to participate in a work shop for " The formulation

of an action plan for Humane stray dog control for the effective Eradication

of Rabies in Sri lanka and Forming of Groups.. "

 

In 1999 the Provincial Director of Health (Western Province ) gave me

permission to use contraceptive injections with rabies vaccine in the

campaign to control dog population in the Kotte area as a pilot project.

In March, 1999 ,March 2000 and September 2001 depo-provera contraceptive

injections were injected to bitches in the Kotte Municipal area. .

In 1999 after the birth control programme I received information that the

Kotte Municipal Council has a plan to use a dog catching van.We sent a

petition collecting signatures from residents protesting against that

decision.I met Director Harischandra at his office and requested him to use

birth control methods instead of killing dogs.He said stray dogs could be

controlled only by killing dogs. He completeted making the

dog catching van in a few months . It is estimated that a sum of 1 to 1.2

million rupees

is needed to make a dog catching van

In the year 2000 the Regional Director of Health Services gave me

permission to use contraceptive injections in the Colombo region.

I met the Local Government Commissioner (Western Province ) and asked him

whether it is possible to start the birth control methods in the local

government areas of Western Province.

He did not agree and asked me to support Dr Harischandra to destroy dogs

and mentioned that they want to use pole syringe to kill dogs apart from

gassing them.

Harischandra has stopped issuing multidose rabies vaccine to government

veterinary surgeons. He did not use the oral vaccine to immunise wild

animals and stray dogs.

As a result last year there was an out break of rabies in the North Western

Province.

Harischandra should explain how the multidose rabies vaccine vials were

used by the Kotte Municipal Council. It was exposed in the news papers that

the Kotte Municipal

was charging 56 rupees to give antirabies vaccine while it is injected

free of charge in other parts of the island. Director Harischanra has

failed to rectify the situation.

He has to answer to the owners of the dogs of Kotte why their dogs were

killed using poison injections (he provided workers and poison)and why

some of them were gassed and killed only a few hours after siezing them .

According to the rabies ordinance the Municipal Council should keep the

dogs for two days, allowing their owners to recover them.

I sent a lettr to the Minister of health mentioning the wrong things Harischandra has done .

Harischandra has sent a reply today .He has replied that Kotte residents

were very happy to see the dogs being killed by Kotte Municipal Council

as a method of rabies control

Why that Mayor lost the Municipal election in March 2002?

So many people have written letters to news papers against destroying dogs.

 

Dr Harischandra and veterinary surgeon of Kotte Municipal were

deliberately violating the Animal Birth control programme .Can he talk

about formulation of an action plan for Humane stray dog control?