Sri Lankan Health Minister is asking suggestions

[Guest guest]

That is good news Padma. Please let me have the email and I will come up with

some points within a day. This is the beginning of real animal welfare work and

you will get the best ABC going there very soon.

Pradeep.

 

Padma <padmaeva wrote:

Dear Pradeep and everyone else,

 

Today a new development arose, which I would like to bring to everyone's

attention: The Health Minister of Sri Lanka Nimal Siripala de Silva wants to

give a hearing to the public regarding the new formulation of the

anti-rabies-ordinance, he is asking us to let him know our suggestions how to

solve the problem of rabies prevention. Not only Sri Lankans, but anyone can

give his opinion, share his experience, appeal for a humane solution. PLEASE

WRITE TO HIM !!! It does not have to be a long letter, but those, who already

have been running successful ABC-programmes for some years could attach a report

of their results. So far we were given only a postal address, but I will try to

find out an e-mail address and post it here tomorrow. Nimal Siripala de Silva,

our health Minister, is a person, who has many dogs of his own, he does not like

the cruel method of killing and he has understood, that killing is no solution

to the problem of rabies. He has been setting up a committee to work out

a humane solution one year ago. Along with other animal-welfare-organisations

we also had a seat in that committee, but of course the local authorities were

also present and they did not want to switch to new approaches, therefore this

committe could not come up with a draft, on which everyone agreed. Actually he

would have already switched from killing to spaying, but he could not get the

necessary support from the departments concerned and also not the necessary

funds, therefore he could not go ahead. Our letters could give him the support

he needs and encourage him.

 

A draft suggested by Tara de Mel now compells him to respond, this draft you can

view below and your letters to him should refer to that draft. Even though it

may be obvious to all of you, that this draft would make matters worse if it was

accepted, I wish to point out particularly, that under the present conditions in

Sri Lanka, as responsible pet-ownership is still a rarely understood concept,

this is the only way to eradicate rabies: to help the low-income group by

providing free vaccinations and free sterilizations for their dogs in order to

prevent the increase of stray-animals. As long as there is no control of the

dog-population rabies can also not be controlled. And if rabies-vaccinations and

sterilizations have to be paid for, most people will not be able to afford or

will not regard it important enough to spend on it.

 

 

Since even these two basic requirements of responsible pet-ownership cannot be

taken for granted, inflicting an additional burden on dog-owners by charging an

annual registration-fee, as Mrs.Tara de Mel suggests in her draft for a new

anti-rabies-ordinance, will only lead to more stray-dogs because people will

simply disown their dogs if they are being charged for them. understandably in a

way because most of the dogs have not been acquired intentionally, but have been

adopted as they were homeless and hungrily hanging around their houses. Many

kind people have even accepted several dogs in that way, some are extraordinary

compassionate and always accept strays or pick up puppies from the road and the

result is, that neighbours are dumping unwanted pets at their gardens und soon

they find 10 to 20 dogs in their household, and some are so dedicated to the

well-being of our four-legged fellow-beings, that that they take care of 30, 40,

50 of them and even more. Does Mrs.Tara de Mel

want to punish such people for the service they have done for Society by taking

these animals from the road, by charging a fee from them for each of these

rescued dogs? SOFA strongly recommends to the Ministry of Health, not to accept

this draft because it is not conducive to the purpose of curbing the

stray-population and therefore the spread of rabies.

 

 

Here in Kandy we have not heard from any further cases of killing... may be the

letter of warning has had an effect, yet we have to stay alert.

 

Never lose hope... that's the only way to work for animals. If we were to look

at all the stupidity and ignoance only, we would give up before we even start

working, but since I was in Singapore and have seen the progress you all made in

India and other countries, I assume Sri Lanka will also catch up.

 

Regards

 

Padma