R

esidents of Denpasar have urged the municipal administration to immediately beginning culling stray dogs to help stop the spread of the rabies virus, after the provincial capital was officially declared a rabies-affected zone.

Ketut Perusa, head of Banjar Kaja hamlet in Serangan subdistrict, said Tuesday that residents really wanted the strays to be "eliminated, because there are so many of them".

"Residents are concerned not only because of the spread of rabies, but also because the dogs often maul their livestock, both in pens and open fields," he said.

Responding to the call, the Denpasar Animal Husbandry and Maritime Affairs Agency deployed 22 officials on Tuesday to catch and put down strays in the subdistrict. Twenty-three dogs were netted.

"The operations will continue in other parts of the city until at least late March," said Luh Suri Urpini, head of the agency's veterinary health division.

"There were similar requests submitted by residents of other subdistricts and villages, when we held our recent mass vaccination drive in 411 hamlets.

"And it's not just residents, but also institutions such as schools and Sanglah General Hospital, that have submitted the requests *for the culling*."

Suri added that as of mid-February, at least 20,000 dogs had been vaccinated.

The fear of rabies spreading throughout Denpasar also pushed some Serangan residents to ask for their own pets to be put down.

"Just kill our dog, because it's so rowdy. We're afraid of being bitten and catching rabies, even though it has been vaccinated," said villager Wayan Weti.

Another villager, Made Antara, said most Serangan residents had been told not to let their dogs roam the street.

"So just kill all dogs found outside homes," he said.

In Tuesday's operation, veterinary officials used four launchers, more than 100 pieces of poisoned bait, and 21 nets.

Dogs that ate the bait or were caught were then injected with 3 milliliters of liquid strychnine, a very toxic pesticide. Their carcasses were then buried in the Suwung landfill.

Suri said the number of officials and equipment to be deployed would be determined by area size and the dog population in the areas being targeted.