T

he island-wide rabies vaccination program is slowly gaining ground, but much still needs to be done to stop the spread of rabies across Bali.

The Denpasar Veterinary Agency has been studying both rabid and healthy dogs and the effectiveness of the vaccination program.

Agency head Ketut Diarmita confirmed that vaccination could protect 70 percent of the targeted dogs. However, not all areas are currently covered and data was incomplete.

'€œThe results of the vaccination program will be different on paper and in the field. On paper, the vaccine may work effectively for about a year, but in the field, we found samples showing some dogs were only immune for six months,'€ Diarmita said.

Dogs, he further said, must receive the appropriate dosage '€œbut, officers in the field often find it difficult to inject dogs,'€ he said adding that a booster program must be put in place.

The vaccination program must cover at least 80 percent of the island'€™s dog population for it to be effective. However, Diarmita admitted, many dogs were not being immunized.

According to Balai Besar Veteriner (BBV) 2012 data, the vaccine could increase a dog'€™s immune system by around 60 percent, which was better than the previous year'€™s boost of only 42 percent.

Previously, Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika had ordered the Veterinary Agency to cull stray dogs to support the administration'€™s efforts to end the rabies epidemic, which was in line with a regional bylaw on the eradication of rabies.

Bylaw No. 15/2009 stipulates that dog owners must keep their pets at home and have them vaccinated regularly. Anyone in violation of the bylaw can be sentenced to a maximum six months in prison and a fine of Rp 50 million (US$4187). However, in spite of the bylaw, many dogs continue to roam freely.

Since November 2008, 147 people have died after contracting rabies.

Meanwhile, animal rights groups and international organizations have petitioned the governor'€™s policy.

'€œEliminating animals is not the solution,'€ the petition reads.

According to the bylaw, only animal that showed obvious signs of the disease should be killed, however, a study by Dayan University'€™s Husbandry School said the dogs were often poisoned.

According to members of the Bullhead, a punk rock band from Katangese, who initiated the petition, this sort of procedure was extremely cruel.

The band started the petition on change.org, the introduction reads: '€œDear Mr. governor, do not eliminate stray dogs as you want.'€ As of Thursday morning the petition had 1300 signatures.