Champa Fernando Secretary, KACPAW (Kandy Association for Community Protection through Animal Welfare)

With 550 salaried government veterinary surgeons in the DAPH (spread in 325 veterinary offices in ALL the districts of Sri Lanka), who are ready to sterilize dogs across the country every day of the week in a decentralized programme, WHY is the money for the National Dog Sterilization Programme still being allocated to the Health Ministry which has to engage a handful of private veterinarians on contract to sterilize dogs once a year in limited areas resulting in a bounty of a bank of unsterilized dog emerging in a never-ending unabated cycle of non-sterilized dogs?

Non-allocation of money to the DAPH for dog sterilizations contravenes a cabinet decision.

Where has 10 years of dog sterilizations, done in this diluted manner since 2008, taken us in terms of controlling the dog populations progressively and sustainably??

With Rs. 280 million into 10 years spent annually, where has all that colossal amount of money gone, for what?? At the end of the day, dogs are being killed and pups dumped in large numbers while 550 salaried government veterinary surgeons are made to idle in this respect, again in 2018, and the laudable and unique efforts of the State to bring about a humane solution to the dog over population issue being jeopardized and made to look ineffective.

KACPAW has reliable results accepted by the authorities that show significant reductions of dog populations which can be sustained within about 2 to 3 years of intensive dog sterilizations, which is what the DAPH can and will do if they are allocated the money.

One more year of national dog sterilizations done like this will spell doom to our dogs!

The trigger happy officials are busy planning to kill dogs again. And, they are playing with the lives of our dogs as well as the lives of humans!! The million dollar question is WHY?

The officials who seem to be stalling money being allocated to the DAPH are clearly violating a cabinet decision personally endorsed as recently as 2016 by the President himself to get the DAPH veterinarians to conduct island-wide sterilizations.

Sadly, we have had no progress after taking this matter up repeatedly in 2017 with the relevant authority, the Hon. Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government, Faiszer Musthapha.

So, over to you Sir, HE the President, to please have this impasse investigated and rectified so that money for dog sterilizations is released to the DAPH (Department of Animal Production and Health) for them to begin the work in 2018.

Champa Fernando Secretary, KACPAW (Kandy Association for Community Protection through Animal Welfare)