BANGLI

Efforts to cull stray dogs in Bangli regency are running into the same problem authorities are experiencing elsewhere, with local communities resisting the programme because they haven’t been told enough about it.

A common complaint across Bali is that compensation for slain animals is inadequate and that culling teams act without consultation.

But rabies control authorities say some communities are now becoming very worried about the disease and especially over the fact that until symptoms appear in an infected dog, rabies is not readily identifiable.

They say stray dogs take over Bangli town every night and are also a problem around the market. Yet attempts to control numbers are ineffective.

One trader at Bangli’s South Market, I Wayan Guna, said last Sunday culling teams should target the town centre and the market and do so through consultation with the community.

“Hopefully the handling of rabies can be done jointly. So far little attention has been paid to educating the community about the disease and the threat of infected dogs,” Guna said.

“As a layman, it is difficult to distinguish whether you have definitely been bitten by a rabid dog. The government should not only be talking to the people; it should provide direct counselling.”