This photo of a dog in a pool of blood and the officer who shot it was published by Livingstone City Council on its Facebook page as an account of the recent indiscriminate culling. The culling was aimed at reducing rabies and dog bites in this otherwise pretty African town, of which you may have heard because of the legendary Victoria Falls.

About 4 months ago, we managed to stop the culling soon after it started, relying on the research and best global practices of rabies and stray dog control. World Health Organization (WHO) and Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC) are the most reputable professional institutions in this area and their focus is on HUMAN WELFARE, NOT the prevention of cruelty to animals.

WHO clearly states that MASS VACCINATION CAMPAIGNS are the only effective way to control rabies and there is NO EVIDENCE that removal of dogs alone has ever impacted dog population or the spread of rabies. The same is stated by Global Alliance on Rabies Control. (If that sounds a bit counter-intuitive, I'll explain why in a few words in the end of the petition***).

However, irrational fear of dogs pushes for irrational solutions. After reports of suspected but not confirmed rabid dog bites in Nottie Broadie area of Livingstone, the authorities decided to resort to culling again. This time it was announced that POISON will be used alongside with a shot gun against any dog found outdoors.

We are asking for your signatures to help us convince the council to immediately refrain from using shot guns and poison in the residential neighbourhoods and resort to fact-based solutions that actually work instead. These are our arguments:

1) The Mayor of Livingstone Hon. Eugene Mapuwo instructed the city council to refrain from obsolete methods and tackle rabies and dog bite problems in a way that has been proven safe and efficient. 

2) Reputable HUMAN health care organizations advise that "In any rabies situation, but particularly during an OUTBREAK EMERGENCY, the focus should be on VACCINATING dogs" (GARC).

3) Veterinary Association of Zambia issued a statement advising against indiscriminate culling, where every dog found outside is eliminated without investigation, condemning it as unethical and not entirely legal.

4) Use of poison to destroy dogs is in breach of the Zambian Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (Section3(1)(a) and Section (3)(1)(d)).

5) The previous culling was carried out in an unethical way and in violation of the city council's own rules that had been announced. As a result, some owned and vaccinated dogs were shot outside the announced culling hours, while found sleeping peacefully on the owner's plot. That not only reduced the number of vaccinated dogs in town (so increased the risk of rabies outbreak), but also demonstrated to the public that investing in a rabies vaccine is not worth it: any dog that is found outdoors can be killed anyway. The dead bodies were left in the street, causing a shock to the residents. Some dogs were left crippled; others, after being unsuccessfully shot 4 times, took hours to die. This has to stop.

We are asking Livingstone City Council to start carrying out mass vaccination and efficient education campaigns to ensure the vaccination coverage in town is 70%, as per the recommendations of WHO and GARC, and make our town safe both for humans and animals.

*** So how come the culling per se has no sustainable effect on rabies spread or dog bites?

Well, in terms of rabies, it doesn't really matter if you have 50 or 500 dogs in your neighbourhood. If most of these dogs are vaccinated, they WON'T CONTRACT rabies from other animals like bats or baboons or dogs that came from elsewhere. So they won't pass it on to people. Conversely, if there are only 5 dogs but they aren't vaccinated, they are vulnerable. Just one bite from a rabid animal can result in all of them becoming carriers. So VACCINATION IS KEY.

If we look at dog bite prevention, several factors are key. The owners have to be responsible, take good care of their dogs so they are not starving and vicious, train and socialize them, prevent them from roaming, sterilize their pets. The public, especially children, need to know how to act around a dog because a huge number of dog bites are provoked by screaming, waving hands etc.

But most importantly, it's the PEOPLE who have to be responsible. Dogs are just animals who are trying to be their owners' best friend and rely on their instincts, not knowing the law. If us, humans, are not responsible, even after we shot half of the dogs found in the street, the EXACT SAME AMOUNT WILL APPEAR IN THE STREET AGAIN IN JUST A FEW MONTHS. Within just 6 months, an average unspayed dog will give birth to 4 new puppies who will fill up the void created by the culling. If the owners are not responsible, a huge number of adult dogs find themselves in the street every day, and no culling can ever stop that.