Isle of Man Veterinary Surgeons Edric and his daughter Jessica Cross have just returned from a charity dog neutering and rabies vaccination program in India. The program run by UK based charity Mission Rabies is a long term project that has been set up to attempt the eradication of Rabies initially in Goa, India but with a goal to achieve worldwide eradication of this terrible disease.
In the course of 5 months over 25,000 dogs were sterilised and vaccinated by the team of vets, nurses and helpers. With ten centres based all over Goa over 830 dogs were treated each week.
There is a huge population of street dogs in India and in order to control both rabies and the dog population generally it has been calculated that 70% of the dogs in any one area need to be treated. Edric said that the project they were working on was based in Goa, the smallest state in India and that in their hub over a two week period they neutered 290 dogs in 11 days.
The working day began at 7.30am with a ward round of the dogs neutered the previous day and finished around 7pm. All the dogs were then taken back to where they had been captured for release and the next patients were then netted and brought in for neutering. All patients were given a health check, anti parasitic treatment and vaccinated for Rabies as well as being neutered. Most significant to this project were the teams of dog catchers who had to go out and capture the dogs in large nets; without them Edric says nothing could have been achieved and to see them at work was quite amazing.
Edric says that volunteering for Mission Rabies has been the most fantastic experience and that in spite of the long days and difficult working conditions we really enjoyed ourselves. To work as part of a team of dedicated vets, nurses and assistants has been such a rewarding experience that I cannot wait to return.
If anyone is interested in more details of the project then check out http://www.missionrabies.com/.
