Global Animal Health Tanzania
In the vicinity of the Serengeti National Park, rabies, which is spread mostly by domestic dogs, kills about 50 people each year. The disease can also be transmitted to wildlife, and poses a particular danger to wild dogs because their social nature makes epidemics more likely. Rabies infection is suspected to have contributed to the disappearance of wild dogs from the Serengeti in the early 1990s. They have now begun to recolonize the area, but disease still poses an imminent threat to their very survival.
Studies show that if 70% of pet dogs were vaccinated, it would be enough to eliminate rabies in the area. This is what the World Animal Health Organization in Tanzania intends to achieve, removing risks to wild dogs, local people and livestock. Vaccinations will also cover canine distemper and parvovirus, eliminating these diseases as well. This would remove one of the most pressing threats to expanding wild dog populations once again in this landscape.
Tusk’s grant of fuel, staff and syringes enabled 7,800 domestic dogs to be vaccinated in 30 Maasai communities on the eastern border of the Serengeti National Park, closest to the returning wild dog populations.
The Serengeti is one of the few healthy ecosystems in East Africa and is large enough to accommodate a viable population of wild dogs. We must make sure that this project achieves its goal of protecting this endangered species.