Following the team catching stray dogs without muzzles of Nha Be Commune People's Committee (HCMC) during the inspection and handling of violations in the area, reporters recorded many unexpected situations. As soon as they saw the presence of functional forces, some owners rushed to drive their pets into the house. However, in just about 1 hour of duty, the task force used specialized rackets to successfully surround and catch many stray dogs on the street, and took them to the commune People's Committee headquarters for handling according to regulations.
In an alley on Dao Tong Nguyen street, functional forces discovered a dog without muzzles moving freely outside, so they quickly approached and surrounded it. At this moment, the owner just arrived and quickly hugged the pet, expressing regret. Explaining to the working group, she said that because she went out quickly, she accidentally left the door open, causing the pet to run out into the street. She affirmed that the family had been fully vaccinated against rabies and equipped with muzzles, and usually kept pets indoors.
I know clearly the regulation that dogs are not allowed to be stray. The incident today was due to carelessness, I promise not to repeat it," the owner confided.
The obsession with unsafety and environmental pollution
In fact, the situation of pets without muzzles walking freely not only poses a potential risk of traffic unsafety but also seriously affects the hygiene of the living environment. Mr. Cau (resident of hamlet 11, Nha Be commune) reflected that in the alley where he lives, every night there are dozens of dogs gathering to pick up pockets of domestic waste, causing leftover food to scatter everywhere, causing foul odor.
At night, walking through this area, seeing dogs suddenly rushing out, everyone is bored and afraid of being attacked. People are very upset but giving advice to owners is not effective, many people who want to walk or exercise also hesitate to return," Mr. Cau shared.
Talking to reporters, Mr. Tran Minh Hien - Vice Chairman of Nha Be Commune People's Committee analyzed the current situation of stray dogs in the locality, which currently exists in two main groups. One is in residential areas, small alleys, where many households still maintain the habit of releasing pets onto the road, causing pollution, late-night noise and threatening the safety of pedestrians. Two is that in some housing projects that are not yet filled or port construction areas, there is a situation of abandoned dogs, becoming free-living stray dogs.
Directly resolving people's grievances, leaders of Nha Be Commune People's Committee directed coordination with professional dog catching teams, commune police and inter-sectoral forces to launch a thorough handling campaign. The locality applies two solutions in parallel: patrolling and encircling directly at the scene and "cold" handling based on images and reports provided by the Hamlet Board or people.
Arresting 28 stray dogs, combined with propaganda to raise awareness
Since the beginning of the year, through 3 peak campaigns at hotspots, the functional forces of Nha Be commune have arrested a total of 28 stray dogs. All livestock after being captured are transferred to the centralized storage area of the specialized unit for care.
To get back the livestock, the owner must sign a commitment not to re-offend, complete rabies vaccination (costing about 300,000 VND) and pay for nurturing and care costs (40,000 VND/day). After the prescribed period of 10 to 15 days, if no one comes to receive them, these livestock will be transferred to the animal rescue center or destroyed according to veterinary regulations for old and sick people.
Assessing the new regulations with fines ranging from 1 to 2 million VND for straying or not wearing muzzles for dogs in public places, leaders of Nha Be commune said that this is a deterrent sanction. However, in the current period, the commune determines that it still prioritizes propaganda, mobilization and making reminder records.
Nha Be area has suburban characteristics, the living habits of a part of the population cannot be changed immediately. Many families raising domestic breed dogs are not of high value, so they do not pay attention to vaccination costs or buying muzzles. If immediate penalties are imposed without mobilization, it is difficult to create sustainable consensus," said Mr. Tran Minh Hien.
Statistics from the Pasteur Institute of Ho Chi Minh City show that if before 2017, the whole region recorded less than 10 deaths from rabies each year, then in the period 2018 - 2023, this number has increased to about 20 cases/year. Worryingly, in just the first 6 months of this year, southern provinces have recorded nearly 20 deaths (of which Ho Chi Minh City has 5 cases), more than half of the total number of cases in the previous year.
