Bhutan has become the first country in the world to fully sterilise and vaccinate its entire street dog population. Last week, Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay Tshering, announcing the completion of the National Dog Population Management and Rabies Control Project, said that the programme had successfully sterilised and vaccinated over 150,000 strays since its inception. AwaazSouthAsia's ADIL AKHZER spoke to Keren Nazareth, Senior Director, Companion Animals and Engagement Humane Society International, which was instrumental in planning and implementing the sterilisation and vaccination campaign, about Bhutan's success and what lessons India can learn in order to deal with its own stray population, some of whom even engage in violent behaviour.

EXCERPTS FROM AN INTERVIEW : 

Bhutan has taken 14 years to become the first country in the world to completely sterilize and vaccinate its entire stray dog population. How has Bhutan achieved this feat ?

There were four phases which began with a pilot in 2009 in Thimphu -- our NGO, Humane Society International (HSI), brought the know-how and technical expertise.  Over three phases, even as we sterilized and vaccinated stray dog across the country, we trained Bhutanese veterinarians and dog handlers, even as the government invested heavily in setting up infrastructure across the country to facilitate better veterinary services at district level.

Gradually, the government took on more responsibility, while HSI shed its own until we moved out completely by the end of the third phase.

How can this be replicated in Indian cities?

We need good models like Bhutan and the political willingness to invest resources to reach this goal. India is much, much larger, so a strategic plan needs to be made. Training and building capacity in every city is a big gap that needs to be filled.

HSI/India has implemented programmes in Uttarakhand, Vadodara and Lucknow. Vadodara was handed back the local government after achieving 86% sterilisation and vaccination, dog bites came down and community engagement. In Uttarakhand over 80% sterlisation has been achieved in Dehradun, Mussoorie and Nainital. In Rishikesh, we've focused on female centric sterilisation -- in one year, 70% females have been sterilized and vaccinated.

There is a lot more information and understanding about dog dynamics today and many decisions have to be made - should a program focus only on female dog sterilisation?  Pet dogs need to be seriously considered and how their numbers impact street dog populations, since there is an increase in pets being adopted and abandoned, backyard breeding as well as abandonment of unwanted puppies. Pet registration, regulating breeding and sale of pets are much needed.

A second important consideration is cats and whether and how their numbers increase when dog populations go down. This factor needs to be incorporated into our policy-making, as should the question of urban development -- are dog numbers increasing as cities grow and expand and what is the relationship of a big city with overall dog welfare and dog health. Moreover,  how can communities be involved in ensuring the issue is handled with compassion, while creating a safe place for people and animals.

India has an estimated 6.2 crore stray dogs. How did we get to such a huge number?

Where humans go, dogs follow. We have seen this time and again – it is not garbage that sustains dogs, it’s human beings. It is important to understand why and how the dog population is expanding in such large numbers.

There are two aspects here. One, a growing free-roaming dog population – while the street dog procreates and its progeny lives on the streets, some studies suggest that only 20% of these actually survive to adulthood, as well as abandoned pets. Add  to this the number of irresponsible pet owners who allow unsterilized male dogs to walk outside on their own without a leash – impregnating the roadside female street dog or abandoning litters that came from their female pet who may have been impregnated while on her unsupervised walks.

People in India look at stray dogs almost like enemies. The fear factor is enormous, because incidents of strays mauling children and attacking people have become rampant...

We need to work at creating a safe environment for people and dogs. We aren’t doing enough. There’s the law - Animal Birth Control rules, 2023 - which are very detailed but need proper implementation across the country. There's a lack of will, funds, resources. Many people are bringing pets into their homes without proper understanding of the extent of the responsibility, there's no pet registration, no checks to see if dogs are being kept properly and a general lack of any system to ensure every dog in a home is counted and cared for properly. Abused dogs, consistently tied up dogs, dogs living with trauma - can lead to biting and other aggressive behaviour.

People are at the centre of this issue. Those who care properly for their pets - won't have such experiences.

We need more accurate information for people -- about dog behaviour, how to avoid dog bites, rabies, sterilisation and vaccination. We also need better systems in place to provide vaccines, post bite care and treatment. Right now, the response to everything is reactionary. It needs to be proactive and preventative.

In Delhi, stray dogs were caught and locked up by the government during the G 20 summit. Could there have been a better way of dealing with this?

Everything that was done to street dogs during the G20 was illegal. There were definitely better ways of going about it. The best, easiest and least cruel way was to involve animal lovers, animal welfare organisations and leave dogs where they were. In sensitive zones - local volunteers could have helped with housing and the government could have provided some support.

What are the financial implications and infrastructure and manpower required to sterilize 6.2 crore stray dogs?

There is significant investment required, equivalent to investing in better healthcare for any other disease or illness. The government infrastructure is already present- it may require sprucing up. Like I said before, we need to use multiple, integrated solutions. People and communities are key.

It might be time to also prioritise where sterilisation needs to be done, whether we can better understand if female focused sterilisation is the way to go as well as focus more on vaccination of every single dog.

Is there a message from Bhutan for India?

It is about an animal welfare focused approach as much as it is about reducing populations. About working with people and communities, decentralisation and strong national support. Compassion and love for animals is at the centre of it all.