Improve awareness of grazing and muzzles for dogs and cats

Improve awareness about grazing

Although the vaccination rate is very high, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Dang, Director of the Hanoi Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, admitted that there are still some issues that need to be improved to be able to eradicate rabies in Hanoi. For example, letting dogs and cats roam free, catching free dogs and cats, or not muzzling dogs and cats when grazing.

 Another problem for Hanoi to become a rabies-free locality is in suburban areas, especially areas such as Soc Son, Ba Vi, and My Duc, where there is Hilly terrain, and people raising dogs and cats in remote areas make control, management, and vaccination difficult. 

The handling of violations by people also needs further correction, especially in cases of non-vaccination. According to regulations, these cases can be fined from VND 1 to 2 million, but many localities still do not strictly implement it. 

In addition to the management perspective of professional agencies, these problems can only be resolved when people's awareness is raised. According to Mr. Dang, to achieve that improvement, it is necessary to communicate more strongly about the dangers of rabies as well as the benefits of complying with regulations when grazing dogs and cats.

The Director of the Hanoi Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine said that it is necessary to create persistent and continuously thinking patterns and habits and change the awareness and understanding of people about this issue.

"Rabies vaccination is very cheap, but if you are subjective, getting bitten by a dog or cat is very expensive, not to mention many people are subjective with their family pets, not treating them can be life-threatening," Mr. Nguyen Dinh Dang analysis. 

According to him, rabies prevention has been done for a long time, but there are still many things that need to be done, as stated above, to eradicate this disease and build a disease-free zone for Hanoi.

Although the rabies vaccination rate in the whole city compared to the assigned plan reached 96%, compared to the total population, it only got 89.1% (there are still unvaccinated dogs and cats). 

Vietnam is making efforts to implement measures to prevent and combat rabies in animals in the period 2022-2030. 

Specifically, in the period 2022-2025, 70% of households will raise dogs and cats, and the number of dogs and cats will be managed; 70% of all pet dogs and cats are vaccinated against rabies, and over 70% of provinces and cities can monitor dogs and cats infected or suspected of having rabies. 

In the period 2026-2030, over 90% of households will raise dogs and cats, and the number of dogs and cats will be managed; 80% of all pet dogs and cats will be vaccinated against rabies, and over 90% of provinces and cities can monitor dogs and cats infected or suspected of having rabies.

In addition, the management of dogs and cats still faces many difficulties. Dogs raised freely without wearing muzzles are still common in districts and towns, and people's awareness of complying with prevention measures is still high. Rabies prevention for dogs and cats is still limited. The government has been moderate in managing livestock herds according to the Law on Livestock. 

This process may be long, but with the advantages of the capital, the Director of the Hanoi Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine believes that the goal of building a rabies-free zone can be achieved entirely at present. 

On June 24, at Mr. Ly Van Huu's family, Lieu Tri village, Me Linh commune, Me Linh district, there was a rabid dog (not vaccinated against rabies) that bit 6 people in a row and bit several dogs other dogs of neighboring families. The total number of dogs destroyed is 24. From the date the last animal was killed to July 19, 2023, there have been 21 days without any incident. This case is the only case of rabies recorded so far in Hanoi in 2023.