iStock/Anna Bryukhanova

A street dog.

In August 2006, the world reacted with outrage when reports surfaced that 50,000 dogs had been killed in Yunnan Province, southeast China. The local government justified the cull as a means of rabies control and prevention, but thousands of dogs who had already been vaccinated against the disease were also destroyed.

For the last 10 years, HSI has been working proactively in a number of developing countries around the globe to extend a philosophy of humane animal control. A variety of methods of capture and control are used, but consideration of the welfare of the animal is always a priority.

Misguided animal control policies are common in much of the world. The wellbeing of the animal has rarely been considered and as a result, campaigns of poisoning, electrocution, drowning, starvation and other cruel methods have been used to "dispose" of unwanted animals. Whether they are meant to control zoonotic outbreaks or to deal with dog bite issues, these animal management policies are unnecessarily cruel.

Education and Empowerment Are Key

You Can Help

Millions of homeless dogs and cats roam the streets, lonely and hungry, in countries around the world. You can help save their lives and offer hope for a brighter future.

Some of the brutality that occurs is due to a lack of knowledge about humane alternatives and an absence of resources with which to administer more compassionate options. Part of Humane Society International's mission is to address these weaknesses by empowering local animal welfare groups to initiate a long-term humane animal control solution; educate the public about responsible pet ownership, including vaccination and sterilization; and, perhaps most importantly, hold the government responsible for the implementation and expansion of these programs, which benefit both animals and people. We encourage local governments to work closely with animal welfare organizations on the ground, with guidance from HSI.

Education is a central component of HSI's work, and HSI is a leader in offering veterinary training on how to successfully and humanely perform spay and neuter procedures. We have training teams and centers worldwide that offer hands-on surgical opportunities for any interested veterinarians from the developing world.

Controlling Rabies Outbreaks

Rabies is a deadly virus that still plagues many countries. It is a rightly dreaded disease that is often spread to humans through interaction with street or neighborhood dogs. A bite incident can create a panic among unprepared communities and as a result, many innocent street animals suffer cruel deaths unnecessarily.

HSI views rabies vaccination as an essential component to ending the spread of this virus and the resultant suffering of street animals. Unfortunately, reactions like the one we witnessed in China are an all-too-common response when diseases create fear in the local population.

Our Global Work

• In Jaipur, India, HSI supports the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Extension Project through the organization Help in Suffering, an HSI Animal Advocate. Over the last decade, this project has helped train countless veterinarians in humane surgical techniques, as well as overall humane animal control methods. ABC has improved the standards of animal surgery and post-operative care as well as greatly contributed [PDF] to the expansion of spaying/neutering throughout Asia. This program has also been a shining example of how vaccination/sterilization programs can succeed in eradicating the incidence of rabies in both the street dog and human populations. It is estimated that 20,000 people a year die from rabies in India; however, within the city limits of Jaipur, with a human population of 2.3 million, there have been no cases of human rabies deaths in the last five years.
• On Abaco Island, Bahamas, HSI supported [PDF] local groups in organizing several sterilization clinics. Dogs who were seen were also vaccinated against rabies and given a health check. The community response was overwhelmingly positive and the project continues today on several other Bahamian islands.
• During the aftermath of the 2004 Asian tsunami, HSI stepped in to sterilize and vaccinate as many street dogs as possible in Sri Lanka, dispelling fears of a substantial rabies outbreak throughout the initial recovery period.
• In the late 1990s in Taiwan, HSI's work culminated in the successful organization of eight training sessions for local groups and officials involved in animal control. HSI's influential guidance continues in Taiwan today.
• In March 2007, HSI sponsored a forum on small animal overpopulation in Mexico, bringing together government officials, several Mexican animal welfare organizations and individual activists to address such pressing issues as humane animal control, humane euthanasia and the control of zoonotic diseases, with animal welfare in mind.
• And in November 2007, HSI co-sponsored with Animals Asia a conference on small animal welfare in China, addressing the broad issues many organizations face in a country with no animal protection laws.

These are just a few of the programs HSI has effectively initiated and seen to fruition with the invaluable support of resident animal protection groups and government cooperation.

Successful and Humane Animal Control

Cat and dog overpopulation is a dilemma for both developing and developed countries. Methods for dealing with it are generally similar, and can be molded to better fit local cultural norms. An emphasis on sterilization and vaccination rather than electrocution or poisoning is a must. Massive culls of animals do not address the core of the issue: too many dogs and cats, and not enough homes. Where one animal is killed, several more will take its place.

An animal control program should perform several functions. It should:

• enforce laws,
• rescue mistreated animals,
• humanely euthanize animals who are not reclaimed by their owners or adopted, or who are suffering and untreatable,
• promote licensing of both cats and dogs, and
• provide a low-cost spay/neuter program that enables all residents to sterilize their pets.

Finally, an effective animal control program must deter future problems through public education.

The most successful programs integrate three basic components: legislation, education, and sterilization (LES). Animal shelters, both public and private, that follow this formula have reported significant decreases in the numbers of animals they handle after a few years of program operation. Among the common elements employed by these agencies:

• local policies that encourage sterilization and vaccination,
• a low-cost spay/neuter clinic or some other effective low-cost spay/neuter program,
• mandatory sterilization for all animals adopted from sheltering facilities, and
• a public education program.

Making Progress

In December 2006, China's President Hu called for an immediate halt to the culling of dogs nationwide after an overwhelming amount of letters, emails and phone calls flooded his office. Though there have been scattered reports of more culls, they have been quickly comdemned and sometimes stopped or prevented by local animal welfare organizations. It is thanks to the outpouring of public anger and concern that local groups can now be more vocal about calling for an end to these merciless killings. In another example, it was through the efforts of compassionate global citizens that the mayor of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was convinced to end the poisoning of dogs in his city ahead of the Coptic Millenium celebrations in September 2007.

Through local empowerment of both individual advocates and animal protection organizations, progressive changes are happening for street animals all over the world, and governments are becoming more interested in humane alternatives. HSI will continue to support and guide these groups as they pioneer the animal welfare movement in their countries.