The Da Nang People's Committee has just issued regulations on handling stray dogs detected in public in a bid to strengthen the prevention and control of rabies, thus contributing to ensuring security.

Task forces will access training courses offered by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and professional tools to impound free-ranging dogs spotted in public without a leash or muzzle. Members of these task forces will get vaccinated against rabies before embanking upon their assigned duties on the animal impoundment.

At the same time, focus will be on praising pet owners’ awareness of strictly complying with the regulations on pet management, rabies prevention and environmental sanitation. Simply put, dog owners must pay extra attention to their pets or risk impoundment of their animals and face administrative penalties for their violations in the field of veterinary.

Dogs that wander off their owner’s property in the districts of Son Tra, Hai Chau, Lien Chieu, Thanh Khe, Ngu Hanh son and Cam Le will be collected by local authorities and housed at the Kim Lien Animal Quarantine Station in Hoa Hiep Bac Ward, Lien Chieu District. Meanwhile, dogs which run loose in public in Hoa Vang District, will be taken to venues designated by the district authorities.

Figures from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Department of Veterinary showed that more than 70 people died of rabies and nearly 400,000 people were attacked by dogs and forced to get treatment annually on average in Việt Nam, causing losses of about VND 800 billion ($35.2 million) each year.

Reporting by NAM TRAN- Translating by A.T