The fourth OIE Regional Workshop on Stray Dog population management (SDB4) was organized in the framework of the stray dog roadmap for the Balkan countries. The SDB4, initially planned for 2020 and later postponed due to persistent uncertainties related to the COVID-19 pandemic, was held in virtual mode on November the 30th. The workshop gathered a total of 19 participants representing Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, the Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Greece including speakers and stakeholders.
Participants were updated on the state of play of their countries’ progress towards compliance with OIE standard based on the result of their third self-assessment round of the SAM Tool conducted by the Platform Secretariat in collaboration with the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise “G. Caporale” di Teramo (IZSAM) – OIE Collaborating Centre on Animal Welfare. Aggregate results were presented and provided the basis for an open and constructive discussion on the latest achievements of the roadmap implemented by Member Countries without losing the focus on the remaining gaps to be filled in order to achieve the common Vision of becoming fully compliant with Chapter 7.7 of the OIE Terrestrial Animals Health Code by 2025.
This process was initiated during the first OIE Regional Workshop on Stray Dog population management for Balkan countries (SDB1) held in Bucharest, Romania in 2014, continued in Tirana, Albania in 2016 (SDB2) and then in Belgrade, Serbia in 2018 (SDB3), when country representatives reiterated their willing to periodically run the self-assessment rounds by using the SAM Tool 1.0 – jointly developed by the OIE and the IZSAM/OIE Collaborating Centre in 2015 – to have a better understanding of their Roadmaps progress over time, and to conduct the third one before the SDB4.
In continuation with the previous workshops, the main objective of the SDB4 was to assist countries in achieving full compliance with OIE standard on stray dog population control (and rabies) by 2025, with a specific focus on how to progress with the activities to be implemented in the 2021-2023 Action Plan of the Platform, in line with specific country needs and sub-regional priorities. Participants had an opportunity to gain a thorough understanding of specific topics included in the meeting agenda. The event also offered the occasion to propose and discuss new initiatives in support of the process of building and implementing sustainable strategies for dog population management in the Region. Participants were still optimistic about meeting this objective provided continuous support from OIE and its partners within the framework of the regional stray dog Roadmap. The OIE Platform Secretariat would like to acknowledge the commitment and work carried out by countries in the Balkan region to progressively improve their compliance with OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code regarding stray dogs and rabies.
