The goal of KAT Center is to reduce the stray dog population and eliminate rabies through animal birth control (ABC) and anti-rabies vaccination. "Our aim is to improve the life of human beings through birth control for stray dogs and provide a friendly environment for the dogs.” Jan Salter, founder of KAT Center, said.
Every day from early morning, a vehicle from KAT Center starts collecting six to seven dogs from various areas of the Valley for anti-rabies vaccination and birth control treatment. As female dogs are responsible for breeding, KAT Center collects mostly females. “Mostly we collect female dogs to control birth and after treatment we leave them in the places where we had collected them,” Anil Bajracharya, manager of the center, said. “Not only that, we rescue ill, distressed or injured stray dogs and cats for treatment.” Bajracharya added.
In an attempt to control the stray dog population, the metropolitan authorities used to poison more than 10,000 of them with strychnine every year. “Previously, the metropolitan authorities used to poison the dogs and bury them, but after protests by animal rights activists, this inhumane way of managing stray dogs was stopped.” Dr Baburam Gautam, head of the health department at Kathmandu Metropolitan City office, said.
Since the establishment of the KAT Center, it has cured 8,000 dogs in Kathmandu Valley. It collects 40 to 50 female stray dogs for birth control every month.
According to a survey conducted by KAT Center in conjunction with the Veterinary Public Health and District Livestock Office (in October 2006), there are 35,000 street dogs in the Valley suffering from skin problems, open sores with maggot infection, birth complications and infectious ailments. Because of unhealthy dogs and their improper management human beings suffer also and some 200 people die of rabies each year. But KAT Center has been successful in reducing the menace to humans from stray dogs. “Whatever KAT has done it is good management of stray dogs and now-a-days we don´t need to see such dogs in pathetic conditions” Kamal Aryal, a resident of Baneshwar said.
Similarly, Pramila Shrestha, a beautician and resident of Patandhoka said, “Now I don´t need to worry about my children getting rabies as KAT Center is taking care of street dogs and giving them anti-rabies vaccination. She further said, “This activity has reduced worries about my children to some extent.”
In a nutshell, KAT Center is managing street dogs in a humane way.
Related story
Pawz: Connecting fosters and adopters to rescue homeless dogs
