18 - Save lives, respect the anti-rabies law
Tuesday, March 18 2008 @ 02:00 PM GMT
Do not forget to put that dog leash the next time you walk your pet outside and save P500.
"We want to remind the public that neglecting your responsibilities as a pet owner is a crime under RA 9482 (Anti-Rabies Act of 2007). The law has stipulated costly penalties as it ranges from hundreds to thousands of pesos depending on the severity of your offense," Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said.
Duque issued this reminder in connection with the observance of March as anti-rabies month.
The law said that failing to register and vaccinate your pet dogs against rabies is a crime that will cost the owner P2,000. Dog owners who refuse to have their pet put under observation after it has bitten an individual shall be meted a fine of P10,000.
"Even as simply walking the dog without its leash will cost you money. So, stubborn dog owners should watch their pets closely as costly penalties lay ahead of them once their pet animals bite on human flesh," Duque said.
The health chief stressed that the law also said that owners who refuse to cooperate and do not shoulder the medical expenses of the person bitten by their pets will be fined P25,000.
"That's a very big amount of money compared to having your pets registered and vaccinated. It could even be bigger than any medical expenses that you will incur if only you will get treatment for the bite victim," Duque said.
Local health experts said that rabies is still a public health concern in the country as it accounts for 200 to 500 deaths per year despite the reported decreasing trend in the recorded number of cases for the past three years.
"Dog owners should not be complacent when it comes to threats such as rabies. Health workers would attest that we should not only watch out for the aggressive dogs because even the adorable-looking ones could have rabies," Duque said.
He noted that in 2007, Camarines Sur led the list of provinces where most rabies cases were reported, followed by Cagayan, Nueva Ecija, Bohol, and Laguna.
The health chief said that one of the issues that surround rabies is the fact that post-exposure prophylaxis is expensive and not all bite victims can afford its full course of treatment.
"This is really lamentable but we are confident that the Rabies Law can help us with this issue as there is also a provision of additional budget for rabies control in the said law," Duque said.
To improve access to post-exposure prophylaxis, the government plans to establish more state-owned animal bite treatment centers and encourage private sectors to put up animal bite clinics in areas that it cannot cover. It is also considering giving pre-exposure prophylaxis to high-risk individuals such as animal-trainers and animal-handlers.
According to the DOH, there are around 135,000 to 145,000 animal bites reported every year and dogs are reportedly still responsible for 90 percent of these cases. In 2007, most of these bite cases were reported from Western Visayas, Central Luzon, Metro Manila, Central Visayas and the Calabarzon.
"We want to remind the public that neglecting your responsibilities as a pet owner is a crime under RA 9482 (Anti-Rabies Act of 2007). The law has stipulated costly penalties as it ranges from hundreds to thousands of pesos depending on the severity of your offense," Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said.
Duque issued this reminder in connection with the observance of March as anti-rabies month.
The law said that failing to register and vaccinate your pet dogs against rabies is a crime that will cost the owner P2,000. Dog owners who refuse to have their pet put under observation after it has bitten an individual shall be meted a fine of P10,000.
"Even as simply walking the dog without its leash will cost you money. So, stubborn dog owners should watch their pets closely as costly penalties lay ahead of them once their pet animals bite on human flesh," Duque said.
The health chief stressed that the law also said that owners who refuse to cooperate and do not shoulder the medical expenses of the person bitten by their pets will be fined P25,000.
"That's a very big amount of money compared to having your pets registered and vaccinated. It could even be bigger than any medical expenses that you will incur if only you will get treatment for the bite victim," Duque said.
Local health experts said that rabies is still a public health concern in the country as it accounts for 200 to 500 deaths per year despite the reported decreasing trend in the recorded number of cases for the past three years.
"Dog owners should not be complacent when it comes to threats such as rabies. Health workers would attest that we should not only watch out for the aggressive dogs because even the adorable-looking ones could have rabies," Duque said.
He noted that in 2007, Camarines Sur led the list of provinces where most rabies cases were reported, followed by Cagayan, Nueva Ecija, Bohol, and Laguna.
The health chief said that one of the issues that surround rabies is the fact that post-exposure prophylaxis is expensive and not all bite victims can afford its full course of treatment.
"This is really lamentable but we are confident that the Rabies Law can help us with this issue as there is also a provision of additional budget for rabies control in the said law," Duque said.
To improve access to post-exposure prophylaxis, the government plans to establish more state-owned animal bite treatment centers and encourage private sectors to put up animal bite clinics in areas that it cannot cover. It is also considering giving pre-exposure prophylaxis to high-risk individuals such as animal-trainers and animal-handlers.
According to the DOH, there are around 135,000 to 145,000 animal bites reported every year and dogs are reportedly still responsible for 90 percent of these cases. In 2007, most of these bite cases were reported from Western Visayas, Central Luzon, Metro Manila, Central Visayas and the Calabarzon.
