KULOB, February 1, 2012, Asia-Plus — The first meeting of the Khatlon extraordinary anti-epizootic commission took place in Qurghon Teppa, the capital of Khatlon province on January 31.
The Kulob regional chief sanitary inspector Saidasvar Alamov says the commission has been set up following increase in the number of stray dog attack cases in the area. “The situation is serious and only the extraordinary commission can take it under control,” Alamov said.
According to him, 1,900 people in Khatlon’s Kulob region that groups ten districts were attacked by stray dogs last year, which was 129 cases more than in 2010.
Sub-divisions of the extraordinary anti-epizootic commission will be created in all ten districts of the Kulob region within the next few days, Alamov said, noting that 83 percent of the overall number of aggressive dogs in the area has owners but no administrative action has been imposed upon them so far.
Specialists consider that it is necessary to pass a law on responsibility of pet owners.
Treating people who have been bitten by dogs that may be infected with rabies is an expensive procedure. The Kulob chief sanitary inspector says that three years ago, five doses of the anti-rabies vaccine cost 134.00 somoni, while today they cost 650.00 somoni.
It is to be noted that stray dogs pose a serious problem to the Kulob region of the southern Khatlon province. Thus, Radio liberty’s Tajik Service reported last July that local authorities in the Kulob region have issued a ban on any family having more than one dog. The authorities noted that some families have three or four dogs and, when one grows old, they put it out on the streets. To keep down the number of stray dogs, the Kulob municipal council has exterminated more than 1,000 canine strays over the past 18 months, RFE/RL reported in July 2011.
