27 Sep 2023

A team of six veterinary doctors from the Ministry of Agriculture has been in Tsabong District to perform free surgical sterilisation on cats and dogs in preparation for World Rabies Day to be commemorated in Tsabong today.

The procedure involves removing reproductive organs of registered dogs and cats, to cub over-population, the most effective way to prevent reproduction in animals, said principal veterinary officer, Dr Obakeng Kemolatlhe in an interview on Saturday.

This is one way for the Department of Veterinary Services to give back to the community.

Costs for the surgery Dr Kemolatlhe said could go upto around P3 000, depending on the complications, hence the ministry stepped in to do it at no charge for those who could not afford.

He said the procedure required general and invasive anesthesia, which was safe.

The target is to depopulate dogs and cats and prevent diseases associated with the reproductive system such as mammary neoplasia or benign prostatic hyperplasia, Dr Kemolatlhe said and added that it helped to reduce population of stray dogs and cats which could end up increasing the risk of rabies as they were not taken care of.

He said the surgery was part of activations for World Rabies Day, following vaccination of dogs and cats against rabies.

World Rabies Day, he said was a global health observance targeted at raising awareness of one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases, and bring together partners to enhance prevention and control efforts.

He said Minister of Agriculture, Mr Fidelis Molao was expected to grace the occasion to reflect on how rabies impacted communities.

Dr Kemolatlhe encouraged dogs and cats owners to protect themselves and their communities by vaccinating them regularly.

He said pets must be vaccinated for Rabies three months after they were birthed then annually thereafter.

He emphasised that Botswana continued to make strides in virology as the vaccinations used were produced locally by Botswana Vaccine Institute.

He warned that repercussions of not vaccinating were severe for the reason that when an animal which carried Rabies virus bit a human being, they may die if they did not receive medical attention immediately. 

He said Rabies was a zoolitic disease that could be transferred from animals to animal and to humans.

Meanwhile, surgical operations were performed at Tsabong, Makopong and Bray, and coverage was completed yesterday for registered dogs and cats.

A dog owner in Tsabong, Mr Jerry Leleko appreciated the department for bringing services to Tsabong where most dog owners could otherwise not afford. 

He had brought his six-year- old Boer Bull dog for surgical sterilisation after it was certified that it could not sire any off-springs after its reproductive system was infected during winter. 

He said the operation would help reduce conflicts with his neighbours as the dog was territorial when it courted females and would not let other dogs mate its partner even though  it could not reproduce. 

This, he said, caused conflicts as the dog strayed away from home and stayed wherever it found a female one, which caused endless conflicts for him. ENDS