Attn. Gubernur Bali, I Made Mangku Pastika Presiden Indonesia, Bambang Susilo Yudhoyono Menteri Pertanian, Dr. Ir. Anton Apriyantono, MS Direktorat Jenderal Peternakan, Dr. Ir. Tjeppy Daradjatun Dear Sir, I am deeply concerned about the Government’s current control program for the management of rabies in Bali. I have read the newspaper articles describing the current practice of poisoning community dogs using strychnine. The use of strychnine is inhumane and has been condemned around the world as a method for killing animals. Furthermore, many of the dogs being killed in this program are healthy community dogs. The practice of shooting strychnine from dart guns, distributing strychnine in food baits, and shooting dogs with handguns all in public areas present a significant public health concern. Now the government not only needs to protect its public from rabies, but also from these additional government induced risks. There are no experts in the world that advocate the mass killing of the host species to control rabies. Programs that rely on culling have proven to fail time and time again; as these programs ultimately lead to an increase in the population of the host species due to decreased competition for resources in the environment. International rabies experts from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Center for Disease Control all agree that mass culling is not effective in controlling rabies. A robust vaccination program targeting 70% of the host population is the only effective control measure. Why does Bali still have restrictions on rabies vaccines? The Government must lift the restrictions immediately and allow all regencies in Bali to administer preventative rabies vaccines. The only effective way to reduce the population of animals is through long-term sterilization programs. Effective programs being run in other countries combine animal birth control programs with rabies vaccination programs. When run in parallel these programs are effective in not only sustainably reducing dog and cat populations but also phase out rabies from the population. I urge you to immediately implement a long-term rabies control program based on WHO guidelines; to stop the senseless and inhumane killing of Bali’s dogs; and to consider working with NGOs to humanely control the dog population. I look forward to your reply. Regards,

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