Animal Birth Control(ABC) Programme City of Jaipur

Dr Sunil Chawla with shelter dog, Jimmi

The dog is enveloped in sack, then gently placed in rear of the ambulance

For many years the street dogs of Jaipur were regularly poisoned with strychnine by the municipality. As the street dogs carried rabies, it was thought that this was the most effective way of controlling the spread of rabies. However, over many years of poisoning rabies was not eliminated, and the street dogs rapidly bred again after poisoning bouts. Many puppies died in the streets from malnutrition, road accidents and disease.

In 1993 two representatives from the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) visited HIS and explained that WSPA and WHO had drawn up Guidelines for Dog Population Management, These Guidelines now needed to be tested in practice, and if HIS was interested, a proposal could be submitted to WSPA for consideration for funding. The proposal was prepared and submitted, and WSPA agreed to fund the programme for three years, with possible extension at a later date.

She has been spayed, vaccinated and identified

The purpose of the HIS ABC programme is to create a friendly, stable, rabies-free street dog population. The street dogs cannot be eliminated from the city of Jaipur unless the rubbish on which they feed is also eliminated. For many centuries they have lived in symbiosis with humans, filling a biological niche.

An average of about 80 Jaipur street dogs per week are caught, vaccinated, spayed, identified with ear mark and tattoo, and returned to the place they were captured on the street after a full recovery. To date over 40,000 dogs have passed through the programme. The incidence of human rabies in Jaipur has been reduced to nil for the past four years.

In recognition of the success of the Jaipur HIS ABC programme, the Jaipur Municipality has provided funds and facilities for HIS to run a second ABC programme in the northern outskirts of Jaipur city.  The street dogs are no longer burdened with mange, venereal cancers, malnutrition, maggot-infested wounds, and injuries from accidents. Most people in Jaipur accept the presence of the street dogs, knowing they are now safe and healthy.

RABIES

One of the most dangerous communicable/zoonotic diseases. The main vector is the dog (95%).
Every year 40,000 people die worldwide due to rabies.
50% human rabies deaths are in India.

Control of Rabies in Jaipur
Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan with population 2.5 million (2001 census).
Before 1994 street dogs were controlled by strychnine poisoning.
In Nov. 1994, with help from WSPA, H.I.S. launched ABC programme following WHO/WSPA guidelines

HIS ABC (Animal Birth Control) Programme

• Street dogs are humanely captured, sterilized, identified with an ear notch and number tattoo, vaccinated against rabies and released back exactly where they came from.
• 70% female dogs in Jaipur now sterilized and vaccinated.
• Reported incidence of human rabies cases has reduced to zero for the last several years in the area where the HIS ABC programme functions.
• Full records are kept, and each dog is returned to the same place it was captured in its own familiar territory.
• HELP IN SUFFERING ABC PROGRAMME PROVIDES EVIDENCE THAT
  STREET DOG POPULATIONS DO STABILISE

The other unquantifiable benefits of the HIS ABC programme are that visitors to Jaipur report the street dogs looks extremely healthy and friendly, and that this appearance is sharply in contrast with other cities and towns of India where ABC programmes are not in operation. Another pleasing result has been that the inhabitants of Jaipur generally feel a sense of pride in the health status of the street dogs, and no longer fear them, throw stones at them or kick them out of the way, due to the fact they know the dogs are safe. 

Coaxing a dog closer with a titbit prior to capture

Preparing to catch a street dog with the sack

The NGO, Wing of Research in Local Development (WORLD), which works in Jaipur and surrounding areas for protection of the natural world, on 28th January, 2005, presented HIS Senior vet, Dr. Sunil Chawla for his exemplary contribution and service made for animal welfare. This award was presented by the ex-Governor of Rajasthan, Mr. Anshuman Singh at a function at Clark Amer Hotel, Jaipur. 

Some of the HIS staff

JAIPUR ABC PROGRAMME EXPANDS

After finding the ABC programme of HIS had successfully stabilised the street dog population and eliminated the incidence of human rabies in Jaipur, the Jaipur Municipality Corporation, in March 2002, started a separate ABC programme in a northern area on the outskirts of Jaipur, called Jaisinghpura. The JMC is providing all infrastructure including medicine and compounders and HIS has agreed to provide a vet cum manager to run the programme. We would like to thank Dr Kailaswh Modhe(Veterinary Officer JMC), Mr.Bhaskar Sawant(Chief executive officer of JMC) and Mr.Ashok Parnami (Mayor of Jaipur) for inviting HIS to run this programme. 

 Help in Suffering had a meeting with Mr.Manjit Singh (Secretary Local bodies Rajasthan), the Director Animal Husbandry and some other Rajasthan government officials on 26th October 2004. In this meeting it was decided to carry out ABC programmes throughout Rajasthan in every Nagar Nigam, Nagar palika, and Nagar parishad. For that HIS will provide ABC technical support and training to Government and NGO's, Vets, paravets and to dog handlers.

In January, 2005, HIS signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Jaipur Municipal Council, the first paragraph of which reads:

Thus HIS is now successfully running two ABC programmes in Jaipur. In the year 2006/7 2563 dogs at HIS shelter and 2041 dogs at JMC shelter were operated.

Dr Sunil Chawla, Chief Veterinarian, HIS.

See WSPA report on the HIS ABC programme

Fully recovered dogs are returned to the street in the HIS vehicle	The ABC unloading bay, HIS shelter
The captured street dog is carefully lifted into the ambulance	The vehicle is backed against an unloading ramp so dogs cannot escape