November 15, 2011

Street Dogs in Bhutan

Humane Society International

In September 2009, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Royal Government of Bhutan (RGOB) and Humane Society International (HSI) formed a unique partnership. With the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, the two entities embarked on a first-of-its kind, nationwide spay/neuter/vaccination program throughout the country of Bhutan, targeting more than 50,000 dogs over three to five years. View a video about our work in Bhutan.

Need for action

Like many developing nations, Bhutan has faced the problem of how to deal with the overwhelming number of dogs roaming the streets. Eventually, negative reactions by tourists to the presence of street dogs and non-stop nightly barking prompted the administration of the RGOB to take action.

HSI was introduced to the RGOB through the Bhutan Foundation, a U.S.-based organization with years of experience of working in Bhutan. Based on this introduction and a series of conversations with the RGOB, HSI was invited to give advice on handling the situation. We began planning a mass spay/neuter/rabies vaccination program using the Catch-Neuter-Vaccinate-Release (CNVR) method.

Plan details

Using the approach of CNVR, we hope to reach 80 percent of the dog population throughout Bhutan over the next few years, with the veterinary teams rotating to designated communities that are chosen based on climate, population and tourism statistics.

Given the shortage of veterinarians in Bhutan, HSI offered to deploy our Indian veterinary teams to Bhutan long-term; however, each team does include personnel from the Bhutanese veterinary community, as well as other staff for prepping and catching dogs. Meanwhile, more than 30 Bhutanese veterinarians are undergoing extensive training in India. Training is essential, as it is another component of helping animals through proper treatment and surgery. HSI intends to directly train each of the Bhutanese vets in the CNVR method upon their return.

It has been heartening to see local participation in the program, strengthening our belief that it will continue as a sustainable, locally-run initiative across the 21 districts of Bhutan in years to come.

Situation report

In June 2010, an HSI team visited all three veterinary groups in the field and met with the responsible officials within the Department of Livestock (DOL), Ministry of Agriculture (MOA). Bhutan is a magical place, with breathtaking scenery both natural and manmade. Lush, green, towering mountains are visible all around, while the buildings feature intricate architecture and woodworking. Bhutanese villagers are gracious and warm, and always hard at work farming rice paddies, harvesting local fruits and vegetables, or weaving baskets. There are dogs everywhere, also mostly friendly and easygoing.

Our team visited marketplaces, residential neighborhoods, and rural mountaintop communities, and it was very gratifying to see many roaming dogs with notched ears (the sign that a dog has been neutered/spayed/vaccinated).

The Department of Livestock (DOL) has created a most amazing system to build awareness and acceptance of this program in rural communities throughout the country. In addition to holding meetings, local DOL staff in these remote villages go door-to-door to inform people before the veterinary teams arrive in a new location for their two- to three-month-long clinic. The veterinary teams are not only accepted, but welcomed by locals, and the communities assist with bringing dogs to a drop-off location for pickup. We heard in interviews with members of different communities that all were grateful that HSI and the DOL were working together to offer this much-needed service for both pet and stray dogs.

The visiting team also stopped at two of the locations where staff had been carrying out CNVR. The team went out with the dog catchers in the mornings; met the people in the villages, schools and monasteries where the dogs were being caught; observed the preparations and surgeries at the clinic; and then went out again with the catchers for release of the animals. Treacherous climbs up mountainous and winding roads gave insight into the challenges of reaching the target number of dogs in each location. A promising sight was the Bhutanese waiting with their pet dogs at designated locations. They not only understood the importance of this program, but were actively participating.

On a visit to a remote monastery school for “little monks,” the teachers stated that this program helps them to feel that the dogs are safe for the children to be around and play with. This was a general consensus among all of the people interviewed in Bhutan.

Security for people and animals

Our program is designed not only to humanely and effectively address the dog overpopulation problem in Bhutan, but also to help people and dogs live more comfortably in each other’s presence. Most dogs in Bhutan are “community dogs,” which means they live within a certain territory or neighborhood and rely somewhat on human charity for survival. They are not considered pets, but are still tolerated and in some cases, cared for, by local people in a given location. In turn, the dogs provide a sense of security. Unfortunately, a fear of rabies, continuous litters of puppies, and the aggression sometimes seen can create friction in this otherwise harmonious relationship. Our CNVR program is helping to alleviate these concerns and more.

Progress made

By the end of the first year of the program, our teams had spayed or neutered and vaccinated more than 14,000 dogs across seven districts. By November 2011, our team had reached over 30,000 dogs and with two years to go, we are well within the timeframe to meet our target of 50,000 dogs throughout the nation. In addition, HSI is now undertaking a series of studies in the country, to better understand rabies exchange between people and street dogs, examine how HSI’s work has impacted the local dog population and community attitude towards the animals, and to take an overall dog population census to ensure we have the target number necessary to stabilize street dog growth over time in Bhutan.