The Choma municipal council has embarked on an exercise to gun down stray dogs as a measure to prevent the spread of rabies.
This follows a public outcry about the increase in the number of stray dogs especially in the central business district.
Choma municipal council Assistant Public Relations Manager, Gisford Muleya said the local authority, in collaboration with Zambia police in the district, has managed to gun down two dogs so far since the start of the exercise.
Mr. Muleya said the process of gunning down stray dogs will not only target the central business district but other surrounding communities.
He has further disclosed that the local authority, under its public health department, is also in the process of registering dogs so as to ascertain the number of the pets per household to enable effective cropping of excess dogs.
Mr. Muleya added that the council has also partnered with the veterinary department to ensure dogs are not only registered but also vaccinated.
He has since urged dog owners in the district to register and take their pets for vaccination in order to help prevent the spread of rabies.
Mr. Muleya has meanwhile warned that no household should keep more than two dogs as this leads to an increase in stray dogs which move in search of food.
“We educate the community on the required number of dogs to keep because the more they keep, the more they have to feed them,” Mr. Muleya said.
He said members of the community should partner with the local authority in preventing the spread of rabies through reporting anyone keeping more than two dogs.
