Report on Owned Dog Population Survey in Cebu City, Philippines

WellBeing International WBI Studies Repository 9-2017 Report on Owned Dog Population Survey in Cebu City, Philippines Kazami Joanne Amano Humane Society International Tamara Kartal Humane Society International Follow this and additional works at: https://www.wellbeingintlstudiesrepository.org/demscapop Part of the Animal Studies Commons, Other International and Area Studies Commons, and the Social Statistics Commons Recommended Citation Amano, Kazami Joanne and Kartal, Tamara, "Report on Owned Dog Population Survey in Cebu City, Philippines" (2017). Demography and Statistics for Companion Animal Populations Collection. 8. https://www.wellbeingintlstudiesrepository.org/demscapop/8 This material is brought to you for free and open access by WellBeing International. It has been accepted for inclusion by an authorized administrator of the WBI Studies Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Report on Owned Dog Population Survey in Cebu City, Philippines June 2017 Prepared by: Dr. Kazami Joanne Amano and Tamara Kartal Survey led by: Dr. Amit Chaudhari Humane Society International September 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION 3 OBJECTIVES 5 METHODOLOGY 6 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 10 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 18 REFERENCES 19 APPENDICES 21 1 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Humane Society International (HSI) would like to thank the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) of the Department of Agriculture for coordinating the training. We would also like to thank the regional field office (Region VII, Central Visayas), the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries of Cebu City, and the City Veterinary Office of Lapu-Lapu City, for their logistical support as well as the support provided for the training and the survey. We extend our earnest gratitude to the trainees from different local government units chosen by the BAI, for working hard and helping us in conducting the survey of the city. Finally, our gratitude to the participants of the survey for their cooperation and understanding. This survey’s results will enhance our understanding of the dog population and will strengthen the rabies program in Cebu City. 2 INTRODUCTION Many Southeast Asian countries like the Philippines have been dealing with rabies for a long time. In the Philippines alone, there are about 200 human deaths reported annually. The vast majority of which are caused by dog bites (Deray, 2015). Domestic dogs have been reported as the source of infection of more than 95% of human rabies cases worldwide (Cleaveland, et al., 2006). It is therefore a good strategy to focus on the source in order to eliminate rabies. The recommendation of the World Health Organization is to reach at least 70% vaccination coverage of the existing domestic dog population (WHO, 2015) and maintain the population immunity above critical levels for at least twelve months, which in turn, interrupts the transmission of rabies (e.g. Coleman & Dye, 1996; Cleaveland, et al., 2003; Hampson, et al., 2009; Morters, et al., 2013). The Philippine government has been campaigning to eliminate rabies by 2020 in line with the ASEAN goal. All sectors of the animal health industry including private and non- government organizations, as well as the national, regional, provincial, city and municipal levels of government are called to help. The human health industry, represented by the Department of Health (DOH) is also involved in achieving this goal. Local government units (LGUs) in the country have their own programs for rabies elimination such as mass vaccination drives, information campaigns, personnel trainings, spay and neuter programs, and impounding, to support the national goal. Crucial for these efforts to be effective and strategic are reliable and accurate baseline assessments of the dog population size and composition. Accurate estimates of the domestic dog population further supports cost and time planning for a program. Once baseline assessments have been conduct an infrastructure is outlines to monitor and evaluate the rabies program and its aims. Past efforts in this regard used a method highly unsuitable for dog population estimates, suggesting a much smaller dog population. LGUs estimated the dog population size of areas by surveying 10% of the human population. However, since 2016 LGU’s have started to implement Humane Society International’s proven method of surveying and estimating dog populations, as reliable dog numbers to achieve meaningful vaccination thresholds is crucial. In this report we discuss the results of a survey conducted to estimate the dog population of rural and urban Cebu City. 3 Cebu City is located in an island in the Central Visayas region, and is a metropolitan city in the province of Cebu (Figure 1). It is one of the most populated cities in the Philippines, with a population of 922,611 (2015 census, Philippine Statistics Authority). With a total land area of 315.00 square kilometers (121.62 sq mi), it has a population density of 2,900/km2 (7,600/sq mi). As of data from 2010, it has 195,461 households. Figure 1. Location of Cebu City, Philippines. Categorized as a first class, highly urbanized city, Cebu City is part of Metro Cebu, and is an important center for education, trade, and commerce in the Visayas islands (Figure 2). It is also one of the most famous tourist destinations in the Philippines, making it a melting pot for different cultures and interesting innovations, attracting both local and foreign tourists. Despite the efforts and efficiency of Cebu City Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fishery (DVMF), the city’s veterinary office, the city remained on the list of cities with the highest reported animal rabies cases in 2016. Based on a report from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), Cebu City had 20 reported positive animal rabies cases in 2016, of which only 27.8% were tested positive for rabies. It makes the city a major contributor to Cebu Province’s top 3 ranking in 2016 animal rabies list. One of the priorities of the BAI is to have zero dog-mediated human rabies cases by 2020, and the bureau has partnered with Humane Society International (HSI) to conduct a dog population survey training for the veterinary offices of local governments in determined 4 priority areas. Cebu City was one of those local governments which were selected by the BAI, and because of its strategic location, was also chosen as one of the actual survey areas during the training. Figure 2. Cebu City Map OBJECTIVES The objectives of the owned dog population survey conducted in Cebu City, Philippines were: 1. To generate an accurate estimate of the owned dog population in Cebu City; 2. Establish a baseline understanding of the owned dog population in the city to complement and improve the existing dog population management and rabies control programs 3. To train the Cebu City Veterinary Office staff to conduct the survey and have the capacity to conduct surveys to monitor and evaluate the programs’ progress METHODOLOGY The survey was conducted following the dog population survey training facilitated by HSI in partnership with the BAI. The survey utilized two applications for Android smart phones that are downloadable for free from the Google Playstore. These are Google Maps (Google Coproration) and OSMTracker for Android™ (Nicolas Guillaumin). 5 Photo 1. HSI staff training veterinarians and staff of various local government units selected by the BAI through lectures and hands-on exercises. Veterinarians and staff of the various local government veterinary offices, identified by the BAI as the priority areas, were trained by HSI staff (Photo 1). The trainees were taught how to design the survey, random selection of survey areas, as well as setting up the smart phones and the apps. The second part of the training focused on the apps and how to use them during the survey. Surveyors were also given tips on how to ask questions to get the most honest answers from the interviewees. After the day-long lectures and hands-on practice surveys, the actual survey was conducted by HSI staff, BAI personnel, and the trained veterinary office staff of the various LGUs (Photo 2 and 3). 6 Photo 2. HSI staff training the LGU vets and staff of veterinary offices through field exercises before the actual survey. The 80 barangays of Cebu City were divided into rural and urban areas based on human population density. Rural areas were those with human population below 5,000 per square kilometer. Urban areas were those with more than 9,000 humans per square kilometer. There were 30 rural barangays identified, and 50 barangays that were classified as urban. Furthermore, the barangays were also divided into North and South areas, with 46 barangays located north, and 34 barangays in the south. This gave us four identified categories which are North Rural (16 barangays), North Urban (30 barangays), South Rural (14 barangays), and South Urban (20 barangays) (Figure 3). Using the free online sample size calculator, Raosoft®, it was determined that 2,020 households was the sample size needed to be surveyed to achieve a confidence level of 95% for the owned dog population survey. There were 4 North Rural barangays, 5 North Urban barangays, 3 South Rural barangays, and 6 South Urban barangays that were identified and randomly selected using Microsoft Excel. Household sample size required to be surveyed per barangay varied from 40 to 240. This was dependent on the barangay’s population density, and the number and spatial distribution of households. Figure 3. Random selection of barangays for Cebu City. 7 Of the 18 barangays selected, 10 barangays required one team each, 5 barangays required two teams, and 3 barangays required three teams. Again, depending on the spatial distribution of the barangay as viewed from the satellite image of the map, sample selection was set to every 5th or 10th household. A systematic random sampling method was utilized for this survey.

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