By Nneka Nwogwugwu
The Edo Government says it has begun free anti-rabies vaccination for dogs and other pets to eradicate rabies in the state.
Mr Peter Aikhuomobhogbe, the Acting Permanent Secretary of the state Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, announced this in Benin on Wednesday.
Ahuomobhogbe said the ministry’s Department of Veterinary Medicine had planned to vaccinated 1,000 dogs and other pets before the end of 2021.
“The state government had always demonstrated its support to the citizens of the state through interventions such as this.
“We know that rabies is transmitted from animals to humans and it is a very dangerous disease.
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“To be able to curb it, we need to vaccinate our dogs and other pets and also to let know the danger in keeping dogs without vaccinating them.
“Yes, we have private veterinary clinics that carry out vaccinations for a fee, we are not discouraging that because it is important that we vaccinate our dogs,” he said.
The permanent secretary, however, called on the department to extend the vaccination exercise to the rural communities in the state.
“A lot of people in the urban and rural areas keep dogs and other pets without vaccinating them.
“So, one way to avoid this public health challenge is to get every dog vaccinated in the state. These dogs are important because they provide security.
“We must ensure that they are healthy to live with, and we are committed to ensuring that people get this service free of charge.
“We have to find a way to increase the target from 1,000 to 3000 dogs for the exercise,” he said.
