DUBAI: The Sri Lankan government has sparked the ire of animal rights activists after it said it was looking into the possibility of killing some three million stray dogs in the country. “It is simply destructive and does not fit with our beliefs as a country, especially when there are many other alternatives that we can achieve with the dog situation,” Mariana Novpichatne, a Colombo-based activist told Bikyamasr.com via telephone. She hopes the government would not look further into the idea of using killing as a method to control the population. “A lot of us will protest and take the government to court if they try to implement it,” she added. What sparked the outcry were comments made by Sri Lankan Minister of Health Maithripala Sirisena in a news program of private Swarnavahini television that Sri Lanka would lift a moratorium on killing stray dogs, because of rabies concerns. The minister has earlier noted that the despite the government's spending of one billion rupees per year, the sterilization programs have failed to control the growth of the stray dogs. The predominantly Buddhist country banned killing stray dogs in 2005. Between 2,000 and 2,500 people are reported bitten every day by stray dogs, and the treatment of dog bites and rabies had cost the government Rs.500 million annually while an anti-rabies injection cost Rs.30,000, the Minister has pointed out. Around 50 to 60 people bitten by rabid dogs die of canine rabies annually. Responding to the Minister's call, a leading animal rights campaigner in Sri Lanka has called on the authorities to conduct a proper research on the impact of stray dogs before re-initiating a mass culling programme, the BBC reported. Kala Santha, a veterinary surgeon campaigning against killing of stray dogs has told BBC Sandeshaya that according to her information, it is the domesticated dogs that have bitten most of the people, not the stray dogs. The animal rights activist has pointed out that there are more stray dogs in India but the Indian authorities are successful in the sterilization program. The activists blame the public health officials for the failure of the sterilization programs saying corruption and mismanagement were the reasons for lack of success. A move to set up an open-air sanctuary for stray dogs in a two-acre land in Anuradhapura of North Central Province has been deemed impractical. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/BKJxO Tags: Animal Rights, Culling, Dogs, Sri Lanka Section: Animals, Latest News, South Asia
