Resources for dog population management from the 2nd ICAM conference

In early March, the International Companion Animal Management (ICAM) Coalition organized its Second International Conference on Dog Population Management (DPM).  Held in Istanbul, Turkey, this conference brought together participants from all over the world from many related sectors– including animal welfare, animal health, public health, ecology and education– to support ICAM’s mission of developing humane and effective companion animal population management.

The ICAM conference was organised around the theme of “inter-sectoral collaboration, innovation and evidence-based solutions for dog population management,” and discussions focused on four overarching issues: 1) population dynamics, 2) government collaboration, 3) DPM programme monitoring, and 4) education and community engagement. Featured presentations by invited speakers covered all aspects of dog population programmes, from management at the population level to efforts conducted at the community and individual levels.

In countries where rabies is endemic, rabies control is usually integrated into dog population management strategies. Laws for controlling zoonotic disease typically incorporate measures to cope with stray dog populations, and animal welfare organisations in many places are the only agencies working to manage these animal populations humanely.  These animal welfare agencies integrate rabies prevention into their programmes to increase their reach, to protect animals and people, and to stop the inhumane mass killings often featured in the reactionary measures implemented by governments when rabies deaths occur.

Dog population management can contribute to improved health and longevity in dog populations, as well as increasing responsible pet ownership. When combined with rabies vaccination, DPM can reduce turnover and help to achieve a stable, vaccinated dog population to protect both dogs and people.

The keynote speakers at the conference tackled the newest ideas for framing human-dog relationships, in addition to discussing current options for non-surgical dog sterilisation. Speakers also focused heavily on the need for community acceptance and involvement in order to achieve long term success during population management campaigns, along with strong partnerships at national and local levels.  Finally, strategies for augmenting community involvement in ongoing population control programmes were presented.  The presentations were filmed and can be accessed here.

Conference attendees acquired several new tools and resources to assist in monitoring and evaluating dog population campaigns, including a new ICAM Coalition guidance document: Are we making a difference? A Guide to Monitoring and Evaluating Dog Population Management Interventions, which is accompanied by several online tools for evaluating individual programmes. The OIE also presented a self-assessment and monitoring tool to measure in-country compliance with the OIE standard on stray dog population control, developed as part of the OIE’s stray dog population management initiative for Balkan countries. As rabies is part of this standard, it is also relevant to rabies-endemic countries in other parts of the world.

Written by Deepa Balaram, who  represented GARC at the ICAM conference. Current members of ICAM are: International Fund for Animal Welfare; World Animal Protection; Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; Humane Society International; World Small Animal Veterinary Association; and the Global Alliance for Rabies Control.