The Livestock and Dairy Development Department of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has finalized plans to expand its stray dog neutering program from divisional to district levels across the province. Originally launched as a pilot project in Peshawar in 2020, the initiative aimed to curb the population of stray dogs and mitigate the threat of rabies, a deadly zoonotic disease transmitted through dog bites.

Dr. Syed Masoom Ali Shah, the Project Director, noted a significant 50% reduction in dog bite cases in Peshawar in 2021, prompting the department to extend the program at the divisional level.

Aligned with WHO recommendations, the initiative adopted the Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return (TNVR) approach to control rabies and address the overpopulation of street dogs.

Dr Masoom emphasized that the decision to expand the project to the district level was driven by the directives of Chief Minister Ali Ameen Gandapure, reflecting a commitment to a comprehensive and humane strategy for managing stray dog populations.

The initiative of containing deadly rabies disease through adoption of Turkish model of TNVR (Trap, neuter, vaccinate and release) will be extended to divisional headquarters of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) after the project showed satisfactory results in Peshawar.

The decision was taken after evaluation of the pilot project of dogs sterilization launched in Peshawar in January 2020, said Director Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Livestock and Dairy Development Department, Dr Masoom Shah.

The livestock department had launched the project in January 2020 of offering a financial incentive for lockdown affected public of Peshawar of ‘getting cash reward of Rs200 over catching a stray dog’. “The reward was announced to involve and engage those who lost their livelihood due to corona-virus lockdown in an activity aimed at ensuring better public health and safety,” he said.