Rabies prevention in Sri Lanka

Reflecting back to lat last year, we wanted to highlight some of the good work that was done by our partner group, Bridging Lanka in addressing the issue of rabies among street dogs.

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World Rabies Day Trial

Construction of the proposed animal welfare facility, Hendro Animal Rescue Centre (HARC), 200 metres from the Donkey Clinic & Education Centre, will commence shortly. Our sponsor, Animal Aid Abroad (AAA) has pledged $50,000 to build kennels and a small clinic to handle the massive street dog issue in Mannar. Some recent counts put it at almost 6,000 dogs! Bites from aggressive dogs and rabies infection keep locals anxiety-ridden.

Instead of waiting for the facility to be built, Bridging Lanka director, Visakha, spearheaded an ambitious program to bring together vets and dog catchers from Colombo to work alongside local vets and support staff to start a trial of the sterilization and rabies prevention program. In one weekend, a total of 97 dogs were vaccinated against rabies, and 51 dogs and 4 cats were sterilized. Both domesticated and stray animals were treated. The successful trial was run to commemorate World Rabies Day.