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Oral Session《Abstract》

 

・Naila Al Mahmuda1／Rana-Al-Mosharrafa2／Pranab Kumar Roy3／Md. Golam Abbas1,4／Priyakamon Khan5／Md. Sayeed Salam6
1 School of Medicine, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan／2 Department of Business Administration, Prime University, Dhaka, Bangladesh／3 Upazilla Health Complex, Alfadanga, Faridpur, Bangladersh／4 Infectious Diseases Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh／5 Eastern Asia University, Thailand／6 BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh

“Impact of stray dogs on Bangladesh economy”

 

 

Background: It is commonly understood that there are large numbers of stray/homeless dogs in Bangladesh. They roam freely from here and there and sleep at night in the streets, parks, roadside old houses/shops/garages etc. From different sources it is assumed that more than 1.3 million dogs in Bangladesh of which 99.9% are stray/homeless but there are no actual data. There are also no research reports about the impact of dogs on the economy of Bangladesh. Considering this big number of stray dogs, we were highly motivated to find out whether there is any impact of stray dogs on Bangladesh economy.

Materials and Methods: Data were collected from different places of two divisions of Bangladesh. We used face to face interview with pre prepared questionnaire.

Results: We interviewed 998 adult individuals/householders/officials from different sectors. 59% were male and 67% were from rural areas. Educational levels were, 19% Graduated from University, 28% completed high school, 31% elementary school and rest never went to the school. 867 respondents have experienced about dog bite to themselves or their friends/relatives which directly or indirectly affected the economy. 100% were afraid about stray dogs as they know dog bites causes rabies. Significant number of respondent’s opinions is: due to stray dogs, sometimes they cannot go to their job in time, they lose their earnings, if they are bitten then need to go to hospital which cost lots of money, if rabies develops, the patient become dies which directly hamper their family income etc. On the other hand, many tourists from home and abroad visited many tourist attractions every year. For the negative image about lots of stray dogs, the number of the tourists gradually declining which directly affects the economy of Bangladesh. There are many other effects also noted: those are on the community, on the environment, on the wildlife, on the livestock’s etc.

Conclusion: The welfare concerns surrounding stray and roaming dogs should be properly maintain. The impacts of these animals have a very important economic position, so we need to quantify the economic losses. Losses are in terms of the cost of health care and veterinary care, losses to the agriculture industry, losses to the environment, losses to the community, and indirect losses to the tourism industry. So, our recommendations are, we need to formulate a design for animal control and animal welfare programs, the unique circumstances that is social, religious, cultural, environmental, agricultural and economic, to be taken into account.