4th regional workshop on dog population management for West Eurasia countries

The 4th WOAH regional workshop on dog population management was organized in Tbilisi, Georgia, from 26th to 28th September 2023. The last day of the workshop was dedicated to regional rabies issues, taking the opportunity to mark the Word Rabies Day.

The meeting aimed to assist countries in achieving the full implementation of the WOAH standard on dog population management by 2030 with a specific focus on how to drive the changes needed to reach Zero by 30 and end human deaths from dog-mediated rabies.

The event gathered 29 participants representing Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan and speakers.  Countries were represented by their WOAH National Focal Point for Animal Welfare, working at the central level at the Veterinary Services and in charge of policy and coordination with other stakeholders, and a veterinarian appointed by the WOAH Delegate working for a municipality/local Veterinary Services on stray dog population control.

The workshop was an opportunity to take stock of the situation on current progress towards implementation WOAH standards on dog population management and level of involvement in the Global Strategic Plan to Prevent Human Deaths from Dog-Transmitted Rabies by 2030 (Zero by 2030 strategic plan).

The participants were updated on the changes to Chapter 7.7. of the WOAH Terrestrial Animal Health Code on dog population management.

The IZS-Teramo/WOAH Collaborating Centre presented and provided training for the new self-assessment and monitoring tool for dog population management SAM4DPM, a strategic tool offered to countries to become completely self-sufficient in monitoring and assessing the progress of their own individual Roadmaps as well as support development of  National Action Plans and Dog Populations Management programmes.

The participants visited the dog shelter in Tbilisi, where, in detail, they discussed the practice of dog control management. The Georgian experience of dogs’ control in Tbilisi inspires colleagues from other countries.

Participants confirmed commitment towards meeting the roadmap objectives and called for continuous support from WOAH and its partners and stakeholders. Based on the information collected during the event, the Platform Secretariat will refine the proposal of the 4^th action plan of the Platform (2024-2026) to address the needs of the WOAH members in coordination with donors and partners.

The workshop was kindly hosted by the Government of Georgia and generously funded by the European Union, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

Agenda of the workshop