Excerpts from the veterinary department report in the Haifa municipality 2004
The main task of the municipal veterinary service is the care taking of the public health, drawn
from fact of the tight contact between people and animal in the urban environment, and the well
being of the animal in the city.
The veterinary services are focused on the following tasks:
 Controlling rabies disease.
 Controlling and protecting from disease transferred from animal to men.
 Controlling food product of animal origin.
 Controlling the slaughter of cattle, sheep, goats and poultry.
 Licensing businesses handling food of animal origin.
 Handling public complains on animal’s nuisances.
 Education and answers on public health topics.
In this department, with only 11 positions, has to provide services to a large population.
The municipality veterinary services functions are based on government and local laws.
A rise of 20% in public complains on nuisances caused by businesses handling food of animal
origin and from animals the year 2004 has been noticed. The aim is to provide a good professional
solution in real-time, keeping continues touch with those who complained.
The tragic event in which an Amstaff dog in Tel-Aviv killed a girl, had a great impact on the
activity of the department. The handling of dangerous dogs was the major concern of the
department. The law regulating the control of dogs was enforced at the end of the year. To enforce
this law extra-qualified personal is needed. The new law is complementary to the local one in
handling dogs, especially of the dangerous ones.
The High Court of Justice decision in the year 2004, concerning cats, with the instruction given by
the government Veterinary Services published thereafter, compelled the department to avoid
catching cats, unless they become a health hazard to the public. All those instructions gave way to
new ways of handling the cat nuisance.
The Minister of Interior Affairs gave a special budget for sterilizing stray cats. The Cat Lovers
Union will supervise this campaign, and would be done under the control of the Veterinary
Department.
One must keep in mind that the control of the cat increase population must be followed by a strict
control of the food sources, and bring an ecological equilibrium with the environment.
A direct communication system had been created for the slaughterhouse that improved the control
immensely on cattle entering Haifa. This system controls all the cattle movement to the
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slaughterhouse, the slaughter procedures, and the meat movement in the town and to other places.
Haifa was the first to run this system and kept tight contact with the government Veterinary
Services. The veterinarians in the slaughterhouse continued checking for BSE cases, as well as for
other diseases that might be transferred from animals to man such as West Nile Fever.
Also this year no budget was available for building a new dog shelter. It is very urgent to do so as
the place in bad condition.
The department has increased its control activities on meat selling places, restaurants and other
food shops. Some of those activities were done together with the government Veterinary Services,
and the Ministry of Health.
2004 was the first time that wild animals oral rabies vaccination was applied in Haifa in open
fields.
This year the veterinary department collaborated with the public health education scheme, which
included lectures and demonstrations. This plan started in municipal A school in Haifa as a pilot
test and was very successful.
1)
List of subject handled:
a) Marking, registering and vaccinating dogs against rabies.
b) Supervision on the slaughter of farm animals and poultry.
c) Secondary control of food products entering Haifa.
d) Control of fish import.
e)
Handling public complains.
f)
Restricting and inspecting biting dogs.
g)
Handling stray dogs and cat nuisance.
h)
Preventing animal disease to man.
i) Controlling meat and animal food origin plants.
j) Enforcing the new law on dog control.
k) Activities on public health education.
2)
Dog topic
a) Rabies vaccination and chip marking.
7870 dogs were vaccinated against rabies in the year 2004 (76% of the total dogs of the city), and
530 cats that were also licensed. 527 new dogs were marked with the electronic chip. The dog
population is 10415 (in the archive there are another 5000 dogs registered). Among the dogs
vaccinated- 5393 were females (from them 3567 sterilized– 34% of total number of the dogs) and
5013 males (from them 530 castrated- 5% of total number of the dogs).
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Most of the dog population are found in the Carmel and Newe Shaanan regions - almost 63% of
the town population. In the Lower Hadar region 10%, in the Southern regions- 12% and in KiyatHaim 15%.
There was a monthly average vaccination of about 650 dogs, with a peak in May, August and in
November in which 938 dogs were vaccinated.
Vaccination per breed distribution
% Dogs
Breed
Amount
vaccination
6633
4.05%
Mixed
782
506%
German shephard
632
502%
Golden retriever
38.
702%
Cocker spaniel
786
603%
Poodle
733
5%
Labrador
33.
708%
Boxer
3.
.03%
Rotwieler
733.
7306%
Others
b) Public complains
The department handled 2390 complains appointed by the public during the year about animal
nuisance. 77% were about dogs, 16% cats, 7% other animals such as cows, horses, donkeys, foxes
and crows. Calls are received from the emergency center and thorough direct phone calls to the
department. Complains consists the categories of stray, attacks, biting, and noise caused by dogs,
dogs droppings, and animal abuse. In the turn of duty, the department hadtreated injured and
abused dogs and cats. The veterinary team handled 291 biting dogs reported by the Ministry of
Health, and about 200 complains a month. This is a rise of 20% compared to 2003. The small team
is unable to give a proper answer to all complains about stray dogs and public hazards and together
with enforcing the law in public health.
c) Rabies quarantine and observation station
The purpose of the quarantine station is to inspect a suspicion of rabies in captured dogs, and keep
them in the observation station of the town. The veterinarians check daily the station if any of the
animals is suspected for rabies.
Almost 45% of the animals held in the observation station are returned to the owners after paying
the penalty for wandering and the quarantine costs. 33% are adopted and 22% are put to sleep.
Most of all the animals in the last category are sick or wounded animals and after car accidents.
i)
The veterinary inspectors captured 336 loose dogs and 55 cats and a complain was
handed to the owners.
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ii)
270 animals were detained in the quarantine after being reported of having bitten
people.
2)
Secondary inspection
According to law, all meat products must undergo veterinary inspection before entering the
municipality territory. This is applied in order to safeguard the public from diseases that might
endanger the health of the city inhabitance.
The meat merchants pay a toll per weight and according to a key calculated from the number of
the city’s inhabitants. The control station is placed for this purpose next to the slaughterhouse. The
veterinary team checks about 1000 tons of meat, poultry and fresh meat products, and
approximately 2000 tons of frozen beef, poultry, fish and other meat products a month. In total
1,500 trucks are inspected monthly on the average.
Penalties are paid when secondary inspection was not ignored.
Summary annual meat products entering the city
Type
Fresh meat/ tons
Frozen meat/ tons
Annual total
Average
3)
18705
1559
11545
962
Vehicles
8514
710
Slaughterhouse
In 2004 the construction activities were continued.
The veterinarian department continued to send cow brains for BSE control to the laboratory. All
the laboratory tests were negative. The veterinarians of the Slaughterhouse cooperate with the
medical school of the Technion in Haifa and help many researches. 10633 cattle and 2431 sheep
were slaughtered in the year 2004. It was a decline of about 16% in the number of cattle, but there
was rise of almost 30% of the sheep slaughtered. Dror Dagan; Michael Van-Ham
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