Fw: (CN) Rabies control in Guangdong

August 24, 2003

EDT SCMP.COM LEU SIEW YING in Guangzhou

EDT6 2003-08-22

Dog cull ordered to check rabies' spread

Maoming government officials will send out squads to put down thousands

of dogs on September 1 in an attempt to control what is described as

the city's most serious rabies outbreak in over a decade, according to

an information office director.

The announcement of the cull was carried by the Maoming Evening News

earlier this week but did not specify exactly what measures owners were

supposed to take to avoid having their dogs killed.

The director of Maoming's information office, who identified himself

only as Deng, confirmed that the government had published a notice in

the newspaper in response to the high number of rabies cases in the

January-to-August period.

We had 43 cases with a 100 per cent mortality rate. This is the most

serious outbreak since 1990, he said.

We issued the regulations banning dog keeping in town areas to

safeguard the health of city residents.

Within urban areas, dogs can only be kept for educational and

scientific purposes and have to be licensed and vaccinated.

Before August 31, dog owners must take the initiative to comply with

the regulations, or we will do it for them, he said.

Li Xiaoan, a teacher in Maoming, said people had begun abandoning their

pets following reports that government dog catchers would be dispatched

In my neighbourhood alone, you can see more than 10 stray dogs on the

streets at night, she said.

In July, the Guangdong health department ordered the destruction of

60,000 dogs in rabies affected areas after reporting that there were 74

cases of the disease in the first six months of the year.

reserved.

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