A barangay in Loon’s dog population control is as easy as keeping the males off the streets.
In barangay Cogon Norte, a home-owner who insists on keeping an un-sterilized male (bull) dog pays P1,000 annually, and that excludes immunization and registration fees, officials said, citing a provincial ordinance.
In a barangay of 371 households, its 121 dogs in 2007 has only gone up to 123 dogs in August 2010 survey.
Citing a municipal ordinance aiming to leash an wayward dog population, Cogon Norte, which hosts the town hall and is in proximity with the public market decided that leashing their dog population helps in the drive against the spread of rabies.
The decision to look into a controlled dog population has awarded the local government unit a citation and cash for “The Governor’s Award for Best Bantay Rabies sa Barangay (BRB), one of the three barangays awarded this year, according to Dr. Stella Marie Lapiz, executive officer of the provincial anti-rabies council.
Using a local municipal ordinance no 7-006, series of 2007, the barangay has toed on the rule of keeping castrated male dogs at the owner’s expense.
For reproduction purposes, an uncastrated male dog is retained, but the local anti-rabies task force shall supervise and regulate its reproductive functions, said the ordinance.
Here too, mating of the uncastrated male dog can be done, but only once in every two years.
In fact, the local ordinance says owners of females who want their dogs impregnated will have to pay P200 or P300, either to the barangay which owns the uncastrated male or to a private bull owner who has paid P1,000 for his dog’s annual dues.
The barangay also practices leashing of their registered dogs, in tune with the provincial ordinance.
According to the cited ordinance, an unleashed dog seen in a public place is already treated as stray, and owners would be fined P500 every time their dogs escape to public areas.
Solving the problem of stray dogs impregnating their females, barangay captain Alexander Luzon has appointed four tanods as dogcatchers who will be roving around the barangay’s seven puroks.
It is in the early part of 2010 that the barangay started dog catching, using pre-exposed, trained and competent personnel led by the Barangay Livestock Aide, Cogon Norte documents show.
Stray dogs are impounded, and at the absence of claimants three days later, these impounded canines would be eliminated and then buried in a designated barangay burial sites, the program documents showed.
For all of these, the barangay is one of Bohol’s entries into the search for best performing provinces against rabies in the country. (racPIABOhol)
Linkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=33961.0