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No-kill policy: Only bark, no bite
Local councils continue to kill stray dogs despite new government plan
By Marisa de Silva
The long awaited national “no-kill” policy has finally been approved. But its incompatibility with the outdated laws on rabies elimination and stray dog control, is a major concern to animal welfare groups.

The government’s approval, announced by Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva at a recent post-Cabinet news conference, was a major breakthrough for animal rights activists but local council authorities say they will continue to implement the Rabies Ordinance and the Municipality Act until they receive instructions to the contrary.

Animal Welfare Trust (AWT) spokesperson Kumudhini Saravanamuttu said the relevant laws should be amended in keeping with practices adopted in several countries which sought to eradicate rabies by controlling the stray dog population through humane methods and regular vaccination.

“The Draft Rabies Elimination Act has been collecting dust at the Ministry of Health for the past year, pending finalisation. The AWT submitted a 12-point policy paper to President Chandrika Kumaratunga a few months ago, asking it to be included in the final draft of the Act, but little or nothing has been done as yet,” Ms. Saravanamuttu said. (See box for related details)
Minister de Silva said international studies had shown that the “catch and kill” policy had been deemed ineffective, while a well-implemented sterilisation-cum-vaccination programme is proved to be more successful in rabies eradication.

“We will embark on a large-scale sterilisation and vaccination programme, whilst putting an end to the killing of dogs,” he said,
Mr. de Silva said an inter-ministerial committee had been appointed to formulate a viable programme and take measures such as updating the existing legislation to implement the new policy at the earliest. He said municipal authorities had been notified of the new policy and expressed hope they would cooperate with their action plan.

However, Colombo’s Chief Municipal Veterinary Surgeon Dr. S.D. Eleperuma said he had received no such instructions yet. “I wasn’t even aware that such a national policy had been brought into place,” he said adding that until an official circular is sent to him, he will continue to implement existing laws.
Kandy’s Chief Municipal Veterinary Surgeon Dr. S.R. Jayasinghe also said he had not been officially notified of the new policy and would continue to carry out the usual “catch and kill” policy.

He said that after a unanimous decision by the Kandy Municipal Council, the city limits had been declared a “Rabies Threatened Zone” in an Extra Ordinary Gazette Notification dated October 12, 2005 and that he would implement the current laws to eliminate the threat posed by stray dogs.
Dr. Jayasinghe is a respondent in a case filed by Save Our Friends Association (SOFA), an animal welfare organisation, against the KMC. SOFA alleges that the KMC was disrupting its sterilisation/vaccination programmes by killing dogs which it had already sterilised.

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