200 bitten by dogs in Mat South

Nkosilathi Sibanda, Sunday News Reporter
THE Government, in conjunction with animal welfare advocates Nurture Imvelo Trust, is on a bid to curb cruelty on domesticated animals and contain rabies by year 2030, through setting up strategic awareness campaigns countrywide that would teach communities on the importance of animal health and welfare.

Already, Matabeleland South is in the lead in promoting good animal welfare practices and spearheading a massive dog vaccination programme meant to control the spread of rabies. Statistics obtained from the Department of Veterinary Services in the province revealed that, so far this year, more than 200 people were bitten by  dogs in the province, with as many dogs and donkeys having died due to the viral infection.

Owing to the sheer neglect by dog owners who tend not to heed the call to vaccinate their pets at required intervals, authorities in the health and veterinary departments have intervened to lessen the problem. Speaking at an event to mark World Rabies Day on Friday at Esigodini last week, Matabeleland South Provincial Veterinary Officer Dr Enat Mdlongwa said Government had set a deadline to end rabies infections by 2030.

“As we look at Vision 2030, in line with the control of rabies, we have a lot of mitigation measures that have been put in place by the Government, we have adequate supply of the vaccine. There are strategic campaigns that have been put in place to encourage our farmers to bring in their animals for vaccination against rabies, this is in accordance to the Animal Health Act where it is stated that every animal has to be vaccinated at specified times. We have these strategic campaigns at animal management centres where we want to vaccinate these animals. This year, we have so far vaccinated over 40 000 dogs, in the coming months, Matabeleland South has a target of vaccinating 77 000 dogs,” he said.

He applauded the involvement of Nurture Imvelo Trust for their commitment in educating communities in Umzingwange District on animal health, conservation and welfare, saying such public private partnerships were in line with the National Development Strategy-1 (NDS1). He said joint ventures have necessitated the timely intervention by the Veterinary Department to help suppress the spread of rabies, as the number of people bitten by rabid dogs was decreasing since last year.

“The statistics are chilling. By September 2021, 225 people were bitten by suspected rabid animals. The history in Matabeleland South is that when we took samples to the laboratory, they indicated being positive to rabies. By September 2020, we had sampled over 458 people that were bitten by suspected rabid dogs. These statistics show that there was an unprecedented number of dogs that had rabies. The numbers fell down because of veterinary interventions.”

Nurture Imvelo director Ms Sanele Ndlovu told Sunday News that in their interactions with the community in the greater parts of Umzingwane District, they discovered that knowledge about rabies was there, but people needed more technical advice on animal welfare.

“While we are joining the world in marking World Rabies Day, we remain cognisant of the fact that a lot still needs to be done to contain this disease. People take it lightly that rabies kills people. The end result is a loss to the country, the economy and nature. There is a bigger picture when we are to count the damage rabies has in our communities.

As Nurture Imvelo Trust our focus is mainly on animal welfare, biodiversity and conservation. We are on a drive to do community awareness programmes on such issues,” said Ms Ndlovu.