WSPA launches global campaign to mark World Rabies Day

Collars not cruelty in the Fight against Rabies

WSPA launches global campaign to mark World Rabies Day

London/Dhaka, 28 September 2011 - The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) marks World Rabies Day today with the launch of a global campaign to protect communities from both cruelty and rabies.

More than 55,000 people around the world die from rabies every year, and up to 20 million dogs are needlessly and cruelly killed annually, often in misguided attempts to control the disease. WSPA is calling on governments worldwide to tackle rabies through the only humane and effective solution: mass vaccination of dogs. WSPA is launching its global campaign with a project in Bangladesh, supporting the national government to implement a large scale vaccination campaign in Cox's Bazar, which will save thousands of dogs in its first year alone and pave the way for a nation-wide vaccination campaign.

"Rabies poses a serious threat to both human and animal populations," said Bridget Vercoe, Country Manager at WSPA New Zealand. "When confronted with the problem of this fast-spreading disease, national governments sometimes turn to what they believe is the only way to wipe out rabies: wipe out the dog population. But with successful rabies control projects in countries across Asia and Latin America, WSPA has proven time and time again that a world without rabies is not a world without dogs."

WSPA's solution involves teams of trained animal handlers who use the most locally-appropriate methods to locate, catch and inoculate dogs against rabies, before giving them a red collar to signify their status as vaccinated. These red-collared dogs become a visible symbol of the proactive measures being taken to protect the communities from rabies without resorting to cruel methods of killing dogs.

The WSPA campaign advocates that animal welfare agencies work in close partnership with human health, education and social welfare agencies. It is widely accepted that the only truly effective solution for rabies control relies on a combination of dog vaccination, community education for bite prevention and accessible post-exposure treatment for bite victims. The World Health Organization (WHO) has described such vaccination campaigns as "Globally, the most cost-effective strategy for preventing rabies in people."[2]

Indonesia's tourist destination Bali demonstrates the most recent success of the solution proposed by WSPA. A multi-stakeholder approach was agreed with the Balinese government and the first island-wide mass vaccination programme was launched there on World Rabies Day 2010. In the first phase of the campaign, approximately 210,000 dogs (70% of the total estimated population) were vaccinated in 4,126 banjars throughout Bali. Data analysed at the end of this first phase showed a decrease of over 45% in cases of canine rabies, and a reduction of 48% in rabies related human deaths in comparison to the same period in the previous year.

"With our work in Bali, we offered proof that a humane alternative for rabies control was both practical and effective. Other governments are beginning to recognise this success, and we are now working in several countries to design similar models for rabies control," said Bridget Vercoe. "With the increasing support we are receiving from governments, international agencies and inter-governmental bodies, WSPA is confident of creating a world where we see collars, not cruelty, winning the fight against rabies."

For more information or to donate to WSPA NZ in order to help protect communities from both cruelty and rabies, please go to www.wspa.org.nz.

The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) seeks to create a world where animal welfare matters and animal cruelty has ended through effective campaigning and collaboration with regional, national and international partners and forums. We hold consultative status at the Council of Europe and collaborate with national governments and the United Nations.

[2] According to the World Health Organization. Please see WHO's factsheet on rabies: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs099/en/

ENDS

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