The EDMC (East Delhi Municipal Corporation) has yet again come out with an incomplete and misleading rabies awareness posters. 

Their intentions may be good but the information they have put on the posters will only lead to more hatred and fear among people for the man's best friend. Also it will  further lead to Man-Dog and Man-Man conflict which is already on a rise in the capital. 

This is the third poster they have put in the last three years. This is the only public awareness they have done for the dogs in the last three years. let's see what is wrong with this poster:

1 The dog in the pic is quite ferocious. This will only make people further hate dogs which already the majority do. People in India think that every stray dog is rabid and this poster validates it. The poster makes no distinction between a healthy and a rabid dog.

2 The poster says that if you get a bite or a scratch from a dog then go to the hospital. The poster no where mentions about vaccinated dogs.  Dogs many times while playing and jumping on their owner / caregiver which they love to do are likely to scratch their owners with their nails. Sometimes due to some kind of provocation they may also bite. Now how is that owner or the caregiver under any threat of rabies? How does scratching or biting by a normal, healthy and a vaccinated dog make him rabid?

3 The information in the poster is incomplete as nowhere it talks about vaccination of dogs as one of the means to prevent rabies. Should'nt they be talking about getting the dogs of an area vaccinated on an annual basis. The motive of the poster should have been to eradicate canine rabies and not canines. After seeing the ferocious dog and knowing that he is responsible for spreading the deadly disease of rabies, people would want to eradicate him by killing him, poisoning him or relocating him. People are already doing it in Delhi. This poster will only encourage them to do it further.

4 As this poster makes no distinction between healthy and rabid dogs so any dog bite or a scratch from any dog will make people rush to the hospital to get  themselves vaccinated against rabies. Isn't this creating unnecessary panic and giving an erroneous record about dog bite. The hospital records will show  only the total number of bites. It will make no distinction between bite of a rabid or a non rabid dogs. 

5 This poster will discourage people from adopting stray dogs as pets which is the need of the hour. After seeing the poster people will maintain a distance from a dog just to keep themselves safe from rabies. 

What the EDMC  could have done to make the poster more informative and dog friendly:

1 Replace the ferocious looking dog with a more docile and cute looking Indian dog

2 Tell people about eradication of canine rabies by annually getting the dogs vaccinated both by the caregivers and the owners 

3 Tell people that a scratch or a bite by a healthy and vaccinated dog does not lead to rabies, however as a precaution the dog should be kept under observation as a rabid dog dies within 7 to 10 days.

5 Tell people about the ABC programme, as this is the only way to make India canine rabies free. So that people can come forward and help the corporation in getting the dogs of their area sterilized and vaccinated. 

Just fail to understand why is the EDMC coming with such misleading and obnoxious posters and that too for the third time?  Either they should have given complete information about rabies or they should have not given any information. 

Aren't they aware that these posters are taken very seriously by a common man in India. 

Do they realize how much damage these posters do to the caregivers and the stray dogs?

The caregivers of East Delhi are working very hard  to create a better world for their furry friends by trying to bust the myths about rabies and by getting them sterilized and vaccinated on an annual basis.

The common man believes the government and not a caregiver no matter how intelligent or knowledgeable he might be. It's a shame that the government machinery has let down both the caregivers and the man's best friend by bringing out such posters.

WHO (world health organization) is the best advisor on canine rabies. Wish the EDMC had at least read their manual on rabies.  At least they could have used the pic of the dog which the WHO has used for rabies awareness. 

https://www.who.int/health-topics/rabies#tab=tab_1

Compare the information on rabies and the pic of the dog given by both WHO and EDMC and one can know their intentions?

The rabies awareness of WHO is clearly aiming at eradicating canine rabies by 2030.

What is the EDMC intending to eradicate? Rabies or canines?

God alone knows what's the intention of EDMC but their latest posters will definitely not create a good and congenial atmosphere for the dogs or the caregivers. 

These posters have been put in every East Delhi colony, roads, metro stations etc....

They should remove them immediately before people start killing the dogs and beating them. Also the caregivers and dog owners should get correct information about rabies from the WHO  (workd health organization) website or organisations like GARC ( global alliance for rabies control) who give free online rabies educator certificate.

https://rabiesalliance.org/capacity-building/gep

Wish the EDMC had put posters of ABC programme which is the need of the hour....