Rabies spread in heat: Hinting at potential animal culling plan?

22 March 2024 02:12 pm Views - 918

Colombo, March 22 (Daily Mirror) - While condemning the statement made by the Veterinary Medical Officers’ Association over the imminent danger of rabies spreading due to the intense heat, advisor to the board of the Association of Veterinarians for Humane Management of Animal Population, Dr. Chamith Nanayakkara, said that it might be a pre-plan to kill those animals.

He said that he never found dead dogs because of the high heat. 

"For example, the temperature in Mannar is extremely high, and we never found dead animals due to the high heat.
 
"As claimed by the Veterinary Medical Officers’ Association, the number of cases due to rabies should increase in areas where higher temperatures are recorded. During the past ten years, plenty of rabies-infected cases were reported from areas recording high temperatures.

"The first case study was conducted in the Philippines and according to their report, it had been requested to provide rabies vaccines to dogs before the start of the summer season.

"Therefore, it is suspicious whether this is an attempt to kill those animals with the support of various parties," sad Dr. Nanayakkara, while requesting the government to take a policy decision to strengthen the ongoing vaccination programme to eradicate rabies from the country.