Dogs and Dog Control in Developing Countries
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WellBeing International WBI Studies Repository 2005 Dogs and Dog Control in Developing Countries J. F. Reese Help in Suffering Follow this and additional works at: https://www.wellbeingintlstudiesrepository.org/sota_2005 Part of the Animal Studies Commons, Nature and Society Relations Commons, and the Population Biology Commons Recommended Citation Reese, J.F. (2005). Dogs and dog control in developing countries. In D.J. Salem & A.N. Rowan (Eds.), The state of the animals III: 2005 (pp. 55-64). Washington, DC: Humane Society Press. 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]. Dogs and Dog Control in Developing 5CHAPTER Countries J.F. Reece Introduction f all the mammals with ued for the protection they afford Dogs’ activities in these areas are which humans have a close to both men and livestock from widely thought to keep the popula- Orelationship, the domestic human intruders and wild animals tions of other less desirable crea- dog (Canis familiaris) has the (Butler and Bingham 2000). In tures, such as rats, mice, and cock- longest association with man. The some cultures in western Africa roaches, under control. bond is believed to have begun and in southeast Asia, dogs are val- Even among very similar societies some ten to twelve thousand years ued as a source of protein in the the relationship with dogs may vary. B.C. in Eurasia (World Health Orga- human diet. In Polynesia the two In a number of European cultures, nization [WHO] 1990) as wolves enjoy a complex relationship, as there is no word that readily corre- learned to follow the encampments dogs can be seen as food, gifts, and sponds to the English word “pet.” of man to secure easy food. A offerings. In many cultures dogs The relationship between urban degree of mutual acceptance devel- are associated with the forces of Americans and their pet dogs is dif- oped between the two species, with the supernatural, either divine or ferent—if not in type, then in mag- each gaining something from the demonic. Some religions consider nitude—from that seen among most association. Mankind gained pro- dogs to be unclean in a spiritual of the dog-owning public in the tection from having the animals sense, for example, Islam (Beck United Kingdom. Within the United around its camps and, probably, 2000). However, in some predomi- Kingdom, the relationship between some assistance in hunting activi- nantly Muslim countries, such as many country folk and their dogs is ties. Dogs gained a degree of pro- Tunisia in North Africa, dogs are very different from that of urban- tection from the human groups and seen in a positive light. In contrast, dwelling people and their dogs. from a ready and constant source of Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist cul- The relationship between a com- food arising from human hunting tures, such as in India and Nepal, munity and its dogs is not always and other human waste, including teach a “no kill” philosophy (yet entirely positive, and many cul- excrement. Individual animals were are among the societies where the tures identify similar problems then selected by man for their bid- greatest levels of destruction of associated with having dogs in dable character, and the ancestors unwanted dogs are prevalent) their midst. For example, in South of the current dogs were born. (WHO 1990). In some developing Africa, the Soweto community Few human societies today do countries, pet dogs are kept far identified the problems caused by not have a relationship with dogs. more for social status than for dogs as road accidents, barking Man-dog relationships are almost companionship. Throughout much and fighting, biting children and as numerous as the varieties of of the developing world, dogs are killing livestock, and uncontrolled human society (World Health essential to the management of fecal contamination (Beck 2000). Organization 1990). In many cul- domestic waste, especially in areas Such problems exist in many cul- tures in Africa, in Zimbabwe and of higher human population densi- tures, throughout the developed Kenya, for example, dogs are val- ty, such as big towns and cities. and developing worlds. 55 It is against this background of a entirely from abandoned pets and breed in an uncontrolled manner. wide range of man-dog relation- often bears a striking resemblance It is these animals who are largely ships that dogs in the developing to identifiable breeds. However, in responsible for the various nui- world must be seen and understood. developing countries, most of the sances identified with human-dog Knowledge about and understand- stray dog population, whether association mentioned earlier. In ing of the complexity of the rela- neighborhood dogs or feral dogs, is addition to problems associated tionships between dogs and local much more uniform in conforma- with noise, ordure, and aggression, people is essential to any attempts tion and appearance (Matter and much of the developing world is to regulate the human-dog relation- Daniels 2000). afflicted by zoonotic diseases that ship officially and to control any The proportion of the dog popu- these free-roaming dogs are, in problems caused by dogs. lation that is owned varies consid- part, responsible for spreading. Given the wide range of relation- erably throughout the world. In Estimates vary between sixty and ships between societies and the Chad a maximum of 10.6 percent one hundred for the number of dis- dogs associated with them, it is not of the total dog population is con- eases that may be transferred from surprising that the structures of sidered “ownerless,” while in Sri dogs to man; however, many of canine population vary consider- Lanka the figure is over 19 percent these are somewhat esoteric and ably too. Various attempts to classi- (Kayali et al. 2003). In Hong Kong rare or theoretical in nature. fy the canine population have been 75 percent of the stray dog popula- made. These classifications all use tion is considered to arise from the degree of dependence on and abandoned pet dogs (Dahmer, Zoonotic Diseases supervision by man. Beck, based in Coman, and Robinson 2000). Be- Spread by Dogs the United States, has identified tween 5 and 15 percent of the dog A few diseases stand out as the three types of dogs seen: pets who population in Tunisia was consid- main zoonoses associated with never roam without supervision; ered “stray.” In much of Africa, dogs: rabies, echinococcosis, and pets who stray or roam; and owner- many owned dogs are never re- toxocariasis. less animals who are free to roam stricted and stray freely: 78 per- (Matter and Daniels 2000). WHO cent of owned dogs in Nigeria and Rabies recommends a four-point classifica- 54 percent in Zambia (Beck 2000). tion system (1990): In Nepal and Indonesia, up to 70 Rabies is a viral disease of all mam- Restricted dogs, who are fully percent of the dog population is mals, including man. It is often said restricted or supervised and fully associated with more than one that rabies is 100 percent fatal but dependent on man for food and household (WHO 1988). 100 percent preventable by vacci- other resources; The population density of dogs nation. This is slightly misleading, Family dogs, who are semire- varies considerably throughout the since the disease is only 100 per- stricted (and thus roam for part of world, too, although the figures cent fatal once patients become the time) and fully dependent on arrived at are often little more symptomatic (Briggs 2002). Rabies one or more families for food and than guesses. The figures given for has been recognized as a disease shelter; the dog-to-man ratio vary from for perhaps five thousand years, Neighborhood dogs, who are 1:3.5 in rural Tunisia, to 1:4.5 in and the relationship between a either semirestricted or entirely the communal lands of Zimbabwe, rabid animal’s bite and a new case free to roam and who are only to 1:8 in Sri Lanka and 1:16 in has also been known for a very long semidependent on one or more urban Zimbabwe (WHO 1988; But- time. The disease is untreatable families for food and shelter; ler and Bingham 2000). Among but preventable by either pre-expo- Feral dogs, who live wholly unre- the factors that contribute to this sure prophylactic vaccination or, stricted lives and do not depend at large variation are the socioeco- because of the long incubation all for food deliberately given by nomic class of the community, period, by post-exposure vaccina- any person or group. land type and use, and the degree tion with concomitant administra- As a survival strategy in develop- of urbanization. Generally, dog tion of passive immunity through ing countries, neighborhood dogs population density rises as the rabies immunoglobulins. In devel- in urban areas often behave the human population rises (Butler oping countries dog bites are the same as well-socialized pet dogs and Bingham 2000). cause of the vast majority of human and are thus often indistinguish- These few figures show that rabies cases. In India over 90 per- able from owned-but-straying dogs throughout much of the develop- cent of human cases were caused (Matter and Daniels 2000). In ing world, a large population of by exposure to a rabid dog (WHO many Western societies, the stray dogs roams freely throughout the 1988). Although only twelfth on dog population comes almost human community and is able to WHO’s list of causes of mortality, 56 The State of the Animals III: 2005 rabies has a special place in soci- in the dog’s feces and then dis- dogs are seen in China.