The Phuentshogling Thromde officials started impounding stray horses in the town after a horse died of rabies recently. Currently, six stray horses were impounded in a confined area.
After a stray horse showed aggressive behaviour and started chasing people in the Kabreytar area last week, veterinary and thromde officials restrained the horse at the Pekarzhing landfill area. The horse, however, died last Sunday. Officials carried out a test, and it tested positive for rabies. Three other horses were also confined in the landfill area. Currently, they are under observation.
“Rabies among dog is common here. There was a rabies outbreak in horses in 2017 once. After that, we are seeing it again this year. It is the dogs that transmit the rabies virus in horses. When a rabid dog bites a horse, the horses get infected too,” said Sonam Jamtsho, the Deputy chief veterinary officer in Phuentshogling.
Similarly, a horse was reported to have tested positive for rabies at Pasakha, two weeks ago.
According to thromde officials, there are 18 stray horses in the town. They are looking for the remaining eight horses to be confined. As per thromde officials, people from nearby villages use horses to bring oranges and leave them in the periphery of the town until the next orange season.
“When the owners come here to take their horses, we will warn the owners once. If they do not take care of the horses again, we will levy fines as per the rule,” said Jamtsho Dukpa, the Solid waste in-charge in Phuentshogling Thromde.
Similarly, there are sporadic cases of rabies reported among the stray dogs in the town. On Thursday, a rabid dog has bitten two people near the Dungkhag office in the town.
“I didn’t know how the dog came in. I woke up early, and when I went back to the room, the dog was lying there and attacked me all of a sudden. I was bitten at around 9:25 AM and the dog died by 1 PM in the afternoon,” said Khamzang, a resident of Phuentshogling.
Veterinary officials suspect that the rabid dogs have moved from across the border as they were not sterilised or vaccinated. The dogs under Samphelling Gewog and Phuentshogling were all sterilised and vaccinated. Recently, nearly 1,300 dogs were vaccinated along the borders and Phuentshogling town. Officials are advising the general public to restrict the movement of pet dogs.
Sonam Penjor, Phuentshogling
