Central Veterinary Hospital Tehran

The biggest challenge in the fight against rabies in Iran is the lack of awareness.  For years, ineffective and cruel methods of dog culling have been applied, while widespread misinformation and fear are on the rise.  Every dog bite leads to massive media campaigns against free-roaming dogs, calling for their removal in any manner, leading to a series of mass killings.  This has instilled a major fear of dogs in general among the population.  There are a number of “pseudo-experts” that publish false information on social media and other outlets on a regular basis and continuously ignore internationally recognized studies, data, and instruction manuals; directly leading to continued calls for inhumane methods of dog removal.  Sometimes the mass killing of dogs is not even mentioned explicitly; instead, the cost of vaccination and sterilization are exaggerated with an incorrect emphasis on the idea that Iran's situation is "critically unique" and a “short term aggressive” solution is needed without ever giving standard DPM methods a chance.  As a result, ignoring the case-by-case basis of euthanasia, instead of using the word "mass killing" or "culling", it is claimed that the universally accepted solution to reducing the population of dogs and controlling rabies is to collect and remove stray dogs by euthanasia.  Iran WRD event’s objective is to clarify and separate facts from fiction.

The Central Veterinary Hospital of Tehran takes it upon itself as part of its ethical and social responsibility to host a conference on the occasion of World Rabies Day and bring together experts in the matter in order to create a platform for facts and science-based dialogue. 

This is an all-day conference consisting of four panels of experts from Iran’s top veterinary community, academia, Iran Veterinary Council, Iran Veterinary Organization, officials from various municipalities, and the community.  There will be two panels in the morning, followed by lunch; and two panels in the afternoon. The title of the panels are as follows

Panel 1 Rabies: Myths and Facts: The Role of Ethics in Battling Misinformation

Panel2: DPM for Eradicating Rabies

Panel 3: One Health, Zero Deaths: One Health, One Welfare, and The Economic Case for DPM

Panel 4: Iran in 2030: Roadmap

Event images

The venue of the event is Tehran Heart Hospital
Iran Veterinary Organization
Reseach Center For Hydatid Diseas in Iran