4 infectious diseases spread by stray animals among the population

The Abu Dhabi Waste Management Center (Tadweer) confirmed that stray animals can spread four infectious diseases among residents, most notably rabies, noting that it has dealt with 8,820 stray animals since the beginning of this year, and carried out “euthanasia” operations for 59 cats and dogs.

Residents in Abu Dhabi called for organizing the process of providing food for stray animals in the streets, to limit their spread in residential areas due to the resulting health problems that affect the safety of community members, as a result of the diseases they cause if they carry infectious diseases.

In detail, “Emirates Today” received complaints from residents in the areas of Khalidiya, the Tourist Club, and Mohammed bin Zayed City, about the spread of stray animals (cats) between buildings and in front of their entrances due to people leaving food scraps for them. They pointed out that this behavior is characterized by mercy, but it contributes to the gathering of large numbers of cats, and the spread of bad smells and insects. They called for raising awareness among residents, and imposing a penalty on those responsible for the increase in the number of stray animals in residential areas.

For its part, the Abu Dhabi Waste Management Center (Tadweer) warned that stray animals can transmit many infectious viral and parasitic diseases that affect dogs and cats, most notably rabies, Feline Distemper, Feline Leukemia, and Feline Herpes Virus.

He explained to “Emarat Al Youm” that he deals with stray cats through the internationally approved TNR system (catch – sterilize – return), where they are detained using clean, uncontaminated cages, according to international specifications, and then transported in air-conditioned and equipped vehicles to the animal shelter at the Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital for a veterinary examination, sterilization and vaccinations, and they are identified with distinctive marks. After ensuring their recovery, they are returned to their natural environment, noting that he provides stray animal detention services in two types: the first is scheduled periodic services for public areas, and the second is unscheduled services in terms of receiving service requests and implementing them.

The center indicated that it deals with the process of detaining stray animals with both large animals (camels, cows and the like) and small animals (cats, dogs, foxes and the like), noting that since the beginning of this year it has dealt with 6,569 cats, 1,703 dogs, 541 camels and seven foxes.

He stressed that large animals are handled by trained technicians and are kept in equipped and dedicated pens, medically examined by veterinarians affiliated with Tadweer or through specialized veterinary clinics, and are provided with food and drink and advertised in one of the official newspapers for the owner to attend and receive. If the owner does not attend within 14 days, they are put up for auction and sold. Small animals follow the internationally approved TNR system, which adopts a policy of preventing breeding and return, where animals (cats and dogs) are kept and sent to the animal shelter affiliated with the Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital, which is approved as the only entity to perform sterilization operations within the TNR program in Abu Dhabi, where they are medically examined and sterilized, then remain in the hospital for a period of recovery and are returned to the place from which they were hunted, for cats only. As for dogs, they are placed in a shelter designated for the Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital to be offered for adoption.

The center explained that resorting to euthanasia is a last resort if it is proven that the animal is infected with an infectious disease that poses a danger to humans or animals, and this is decided by a specialist doctor. As for cats injured in an accident that results in injuries to the animal’s body (cutting one of its legs or an injury to the eye), they are treated and placed in a shelter until someone adopts them. He pointed out that the number of animals that have been euthanized because they are proven to be dangerous to humans and animals since the beginning of this year has reached 59 animals, including 42 cats and 17 dogs.

Stray dogs

The Abu Dhabi Waste Management Center has identified four reasons for the presence of stray dogs, including raising dogs on farms and estates and leaving them loose, in addition to some people raising dogs in homes and villas without paying attention to them and leaving them loose, which poses a danger to residents, especially children. Some owners of greyhounds and racing dogs also release their dogs when they get old or no longer useful, in addition to the presence of sites under construction and housing projects that constitute an attractive environment for stray dogs.

The center called for controlling dogs raised inside homes and farms and not leaving them loose in the streets and roads, and not releasing owned Saluki dogs if they are not wanted. You can contact the Abu Dhabi Government Contact Center 800555 to transfer them to a dog shelter, to take care of them and look after them, while tightly closing construction sites and housing projects to prevent dogs from entering them, and immediately reporting if you see stray dogs by contacting the Abu Dhabi Government Contact Center, in addition to not providing food and drink to stray dogs.

The Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital called on travelers who do not know anyone to take care of their cats and dogs not to throw them out on the street and abandon them, noting that they can always bring them to accommodation facilities, such as the cat and dog houses at the Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital Pet Care Center, where they can keep them for the duration of their trip.