Special - Free Rabies Vaccines For Pets By Phuket Provincial Livestock Office

[NBT TV Phuket]

To see or download mini-video, go to http://www.thaisnews.com/news_detail.php?newsid=210484

These lovely dogs and cats will be free from diseases after getting vaccinations.

On Tuesday March 27th free rabies vaccines & sterilizations for pets were given at Koh Kaew health station by the Phuket Provincial Livestock Office according to its Chief Sunart Wongchavalit, who wants Phuket to be declared a Rabies Free Zone by the year 2008:

“Phuket has many tourists, and many countries warn its citizens to get rabies vaccines in Asia. Phuket can control the situation. It has not found rabies here since 1992, the last case in Phuket originated in Trang but the person died in Phuket.”

Sunart also mentioned that if pet owners could not come to these mobile services provided, they can bring their pet to Phuket Provincial Livestock Office on Amphur Road, near the Governor’s House, in Phuket City,* for a free vaccine for the whole year. Dogs and cats that are given rabies vaccinations receive a red tag written with the words in English ‘Rabies free’ to inform people when they go out on the streets.

This project has been established since 2004 with the support of the local & national government. Figures from this project so far are considered successful:

“During 2003 to now we have campaigned on rabies vaccines, around 80-90% of dogs are done; right now Phuket has 13000 dogs, with 3000 stray dogs, & 10,000 owned, with 12,000 vaccinated last year. I think this will help prevent rabies.”

If this project perfectly succeeds it will help to satisfy tourists in Phuket and it will be the first province in Thailand that can truly announce itself as a rabies free zone.

“In the future if any owner wants to import their dog into the province, they must have a medical certificate proving the dog was vaccinated up to 1 year ago.”

Beside the vaccines, another 200 dogs in Phuket already have microchips installed for recording details. Around 100 dogs belong to the ‘Land and House’ compound residents and the owners have to pay only 200 baht for the microchips. After installation each dog has its own dog passport for recording health and vaccine details.

In the future these projects could be presented to the national government in Bangkok to announce through the World Health Organization or W.H.O.

If we care for dogs and cats well, these can be some of the processes for making Phuket become a Rabies free zone so that residents and tourists can also feel safer with less risks when they walk on the streets and meet a dog or ‘man’s best friend’, otherwise ‘curiosity will kill the cat’!

Don’t forget to take good care of dogs and cats you have at home. This is Sherry reporting for Andaman News.

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* Tel. 076 216934

Email [email protected]

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from Special Report for Andaman News TV11 (VHF dial) + Radio Thailand FM90.5 Phuket City, both broadcast to Phang Nga, Krabi & Phuket provinces, 8.30am & maybe later on Phuket Cable TV channel 1, Thursday 29 March 2007 & Thaisnews.com { Our news text and videos can be freely copied, but give credit to Andaman News TV11 Phuket or contact [email protected] }