Watch this video for a quick peek at what the Global Dog Campaign is all about.
The Challenge
Around 800 million dogs (range 700 million to 1 billion) share our world, about 300 million of whom are “homeless.” These dogs have high mortality rates, especially their puppies, the majority of whom do not survive their first year of life. “Homeless” or street dogs are primarily found in human communities scavenging for food and sheltering wherever they can. They carry a heavy parasite burden, and when such a dog gets ill or is injured, it will not receive any health care. WBI’s Global GDC Team includes recruited experts in their fields with years of field experience and a dedication to the mission to improve the outlook for and the lives of these 300 million homeless dogs across the globe. The team’s mission is to ensure that these homeless dogs are more likely to experience the benefits of being humankind’s “best friends.”
WBI aims to track approaches that reduce populations of homeless dogs and encourage greater care for dogs in countries worldwide. While a few dog management projects have achieved and reported impressive results, most do not report their impact across multiple years. WBI, with its Consortium Implementing Partners (CIPs), will establish demonstration sites that include support for vaccinations & sterilizations, street dog surveys, and the development of multi-year data sets and analysis. These sites will test and then showcase the most effective strategies that improve dog and community well-being.
While there are an estimated 300 million “homeless” dogs, the term is surprisingly challenging to define. Many dogs observed on the streets may be claimed by a particular household. For example, one study found that over 90% of dogs on the street in two Balinese villages and two South African townships were claimed to be “theirs” by specific households. Still, the dogs lived on the streets and rarely received any treatment for disease or injury. After much consideration, WBI defines a homeless dog as spending most of its time on the streets and receiving little to no health care.
For this Campaign, WBI defines a homeless dog as one that spends most or all its time on the streets and receives little to no health care. Studies indicate such homeless dogs receive most of their food from specific human handouts (garbage on the street has limited nutritional value). Thus, the defining features of dog homelessness are a life on the streets and little or no veterinary care provided by humans.
Homeless dogs, or street dogs, experience high incidences of disease and injury, and their lives are much shorter than those of pet (“homed”) dogs. Such dogs are usually not provided safe shelter, and a specific household does not significantly control their behavior. These dogs are often not vaccinated against rabies or other diseases and lack basic veterinary care. Sadly, approximately 75% of puppies born to homeless dogs die before they are a year old.
Homeless dogs may also adversely affect communities. Challenges include dog bites, rabies, other diseases, and harassment of people, domestic animals, and wildlife. Also, programs to manage homeless dogs usually do not sufficiently engage local stakeholders and animal advocates and often opt for short-term and non-sustainable methods.
Most of the world’s homeless dogs live in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Even though a substantial majority of these homeless dogs may be claimed (i.e., loosely “owned”) by specific households in the community, these dogs cause multiple problems for the community (e.g., nuisance, bites, disease, etc.). There are few homeless dogs in high-income countries. The relative populations of dogs (including both homed and homeless) vary widely globally, as indicated in the interactive global map below.
Campaigns have been launched in the late 20th century (Latin America) and in the 21st century (Africa and Asia) to eliminate rabies in LMICs in Asia and Africa. In 2004, the WHO estimated that 59,000 people died from rabies; almost all contracted the disease from a dog bite. The anti-rabies Campaign in Latin America was very successful, but progress has been limited in Asia and Africa. Today, it is estimated that the direct costs of global rabies prevention, including the treatment of dog bites, are more than $2 billion a year, with an additional $6 billion in indirect costs such as loss of work time.
The humane and effective management of homeless dogs may also have significant social consequences for communities. In Bosnia, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) found that some surveyed communities reported having problems caused by roaming dogs. As a result, the UNDP set up a partnership with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) to address the issue in several trial communities. Over the next few years, community-led efforts successfully mitigated the problem of roaming dogs. Those efforts also reduced ethnic tensions as the community representatives worked together to solve the local dog problem as an unexpected side benefit.
There are so many good reasons to develop and implement humane and effective management approaches for homeless dogs. These reasons include reducing human disease contracted from dogs, dog nuisance, dog suffering, and homeless dog numbers while improving community relations.
Estimated Percentages of “Homeless” Dogs by Continent or Country
East Africa
Brazil
Southern Africa
India
China
Thailand
Eastern Europe
Philippines
Northern Europe
Australasia
USA & Canada
World
Implementation Partners
Identified a select number of organizations committed to assisting dogs in their communities.
Resources
Provided access to training (CLA), expertise and software tools to implement a project with a flagship partner in a test country.
Fundraising
Raised (and continues to raise) needed funding for the campaign's foundational work and global implementing projects.
Reporting & Tracking
Provided leadership and resources to enable an implementing partner to report data.
Direct Care Services
Committed funds to support direct care services (sterilization and vaccinations) to a flagship partner in the test country.
Reporting Protocols
Developed data reporting protocols for surveys and monitoring reports.
Survey Implementation
Implemented household and homeless (``street``) dog population surveys in one of the flagship locations.
Centralized Repository
Developed a database to house longitudinal data on dogs and their communities.
Be a Part of the Global Dog Campaign
There are many good reasons to develop and implement humane and effective management approaches for homeless dogs and their communities. These reasons include reducing homeless dog numbers, reducing human diseases contracted from dogs and dog bites, reducing dog suffering, and reducing dog nuisance. These actions will provide greater well-being for homeless dogs, people, and communities. Please join us in supporting the Global Dog campaign through your generous donation.