Media Release
Contact:
Kate Nattrass Atema, katema@ifaw.org, office: +1 508-744-2095, mobile: +1 508-364-7848
Andreas Dinkelmeyer, adinkelmeyer@ifaw.org, +49 40 866 50015, mobile: +49 173 622 75 39
September 28th is World Rabies Day - Rabies
can be overcome with Adequate Guardianship
(Yarmouth Port, MA, USA – 27. September 2011) Each year 55.000 people
worldwide die because of rabies. This fatal disease threatens 3.3 billion people in
Asia and Africa and in 99 per cent of cases it is contracted from dogs. The
International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW – www.ifaw.org) and many other
organizations and individuals are battling against this fatal, but preventable, disease.
In an effort to control outbreaks of rabies and out of lack of better tools many affected
communities resort to cruel mass killings of dogs by poisoning or beating the animals
to death.
“Inhumane mass dog culls not only fail to stop rabies epidemics, but they also leave
deep psychological scars in the communities where these horrific culls occur,” said
Kate Atema, Director of the IFAW’s Companion Animal Program. “Dog culls divert
precious resources from addressing the root of the problem. IFAW has demonstrated
success in ending rabies and other threats to communities through our programs
around the world based on Adequate Guardianship.”
IFAW’s principal of Adequate Guardianship is a holistic and sustainable approach to
addressing the health and welfare of pets and the communities they live in. One
aspect is the provision of basic veterinary care, which includes vaccinations against
diseases such as rabies.
Atema continues: “When communities take responsibility and meet their animals’
basic needs in a way that is locally appropriate and relevant to the community’s own
concerns, the number of rabies infections can decrease significantly, while animal
welfare and community safety is improved. We can see these results in our projects in
Mexico, South Africa and Bali.”
Rabies infection in humans is caused by exposure to contaminated saliva, mostly due
to dog bites.
In 2010 IFAW contributed to a project - jointly led by the World Society for the
Protection of Animals (WSPA) and Bali Animal Welfare Association (BAWA) - to
vaccinate 270,000 dogs in Bali. This figure represents well over the 70 per cent of the
Balinese dog population, a threshold that has been scientifically shown to stop a
rabies epidemic.
As a result of the campaign, Balinese rabies statistics showed marked decline in 2011.
In comparing a five month period from March 2010 until July 2010 to the same
period in 2011 there was a 75 per cent drop in the numbers of deaths of people due to
rabies infection in 2011. In addition there was an 85 per cent reduction of confirmed
cases of dog rabies. In the same period villages with reported rabies cases declined
from 240 positive villages in 2010 to 48 villages in July 2011.
About the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)
About IFAW (the International Fund for Animal Welfare)
Founded in 1969, IFAW saves animals in crisis around the world. With projects in
more than 40 countries, IFAW rescues individual animals, works to prevent cruelty to
animals, and advocates for the protection of wildlife and habitats. For more
information, visit www.ifaw.org. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter..
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