Police authorities in Ikotos County of Eastern Equatoria State said they are planning to rid the town of stray dogs starting Wednesday after four people were reportedly bitten by dogs last week.
Warrant Officer Gabriel Akom said despite the killing of the dog that bit people last week, they launched a program that will kick off on Wednesday to eliminate all stray dogs from the town. He advised dog owners to keep their canines on a leash to avoid them being killed.
“This is true, we have killed the dog that bit people the other day but we have released an order for the killing of wild dogs in Ikotos, the ones in the town. We don’t have a problem with those (dogs) in the villages. The dogs that live in the villages and Payams, we don’t have a problem with them,” Officer Akom said.
He said the police are requisitioning the bullets for killing the stray dogs and stressed that whoever leaves their dog roaming will be held responsible if it bites a person.
“We will start this program on Wednesday because we have to sit down and look for the bullets for killing them because this cannot be done by the normal bullets. We need to search for the right bullets for killing them,” Akom said. “If you have a dog and it bites someone, the owner will be the one to pay because that is a dog that has been tamed. This dog did not live alone. If a dog bites someone, the owner is responsible for the act. This is the reason we are telling all these people who have a dog at home to tie it properly.”
Josephine Akello, 25, one of the victims of a dog bite last week said: “I was moving on my way and I found it standing on the road. I left it. I even moved to another route but it came and bit my leg and my hand.”
She said she received an anti-tetanus injection but was referred from Ikwoto PHCC to St. Theresa’s Mission Hospital in Isohe to receive treatment and anti-rabies vaccine but lacked transport.
The Ikotos County health director, Lope Joseph Iswangai, said one of the two wild dogs had been killed and the remaining one was being hunted down. He said all four cases were reported in a single day.
“We have four cases of dog bites. There are two wild dogs, one was killed already and we are still in search of one. The first two cases went to Isohe because we have some anti-rabies there for them to get the vaccines, even these two will also go this morning (Saturday) to have the anti-rabies from the hospital. We don’t have the vaccines here; we have it in Isohe,” Iswangai said.
Last month, Eastern Equatoria State’s ministry of animal resources and fisheries asked all dog owners to bring in their canines or vaccination against rabies to avoid transmitting the disease to humans through bites.