Estimation of stray dog and cat populations in metropolitan Ankara, Turkey
Estimation of stray dog and cat populations in metropolitan Ankara, Turkey
Stray dogs and cats contribute to serious health problems in human societies around the world. Before any necessary interventions to control the stray dogs and cats, an accurate estimate of their populations should be attained. Yet, there is a very limited number of methods for an estimation. Some of them depend on the identification of marked or counted animals. However, problems arise when it is not possible to identify a previously captured animal. In this paper, we used a different approach to estimate the lower bound for the total number of dogs and cats in consecutively visited settlements that might be useful for future studies internationally. It was estimated that there were 17,839 (95% CI: 14,862 20,816) stray dogs and 10,191 (95% CI: 8439 11,942) stray cats in Ankara, Turkey. The results highlight the need for a science-based policy to control and manage the stray dog and cat populations in Ankara.
___
- 1. Van der Hoeden J. Zoonoses. London, UK: Elsevier; 1964.
- 2. Hubbert WT, McCulloch WF, Schnurrenberger PR. Diseases Transmitted from Animals to Man. 6th ed. Springfield, IL, USA: Thomas; 1975.
- 3. WHO. Expert Consultation on Rabies. First report. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization (WHO Technical Report Series No. 931); 2005
- 4. Akkoca N, Economidies P, Maksound G, Mesyom M, King AA, Fooks AR, Aubert M, Wandeler AI. Historical perspectives of rabies in Europe and the Mediterranean basin. In: Rabies in Turkey, Cyprus, Syria and Lebanon. Paris, France: OIE ; 2004. pp. 157169.
- 5. WHO. Guidelines for Veterinary Urban Hygiene. Volume II. Management of Feline and Canine Population in Urban Areas. Rome, Italy: WHO/FAO; 1996.
- 6. Slatter MR. The role of veterinary epidemiology in the study of free roaming dogs and cats. Prev Vet Med 2001; 48: 273286.
- 7. Bogel K, Hoyte JA. Guidelines for Dog Population Management. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization and World Society for the Protection of Animals; 1990.
- 8. Hossain M, Ahmed K, Marma ASP, Hossain S, Ali MA, Shamsuzzaman AKM, Nishizono A. A survey of the dog population in rural Bangladesh. Prev Vet Med 2013; 111: 134138.
- 9. WSPA. Surveying Roaming Dog Populations: Guidelines on Methodology. Discussion document. Toronto, Canada: World Society for the Protection of Animals; 2008.
- 10. Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu. Adrese dayalı nüfus bilgisi; 2012 (in Turkish).
- 11. R Core Team. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing; 2013.
- 12. Sudarshan MK, Nagaraj S, Savitha B, Veena SG. An epidemiological study of rabies in Bangalore city. J Indian Med Assoc 1995; 93: 1417.
- 13. Kitala P, McDermott J, Kyule M, Gathuma J, Perry B, Wandeler A. Dog ecology and demography information to support the planning of rabies control in Machakos District, Kenya. Acta Trop 2001; 78: 217230.
- 14. Slater MR, Nardo AD, Pediconi O, Villa PD, Candeloro L, Alessandrini B, Papa SD. Free-roaming dogs and cats in central Italy: public perceptions of the problem. Prev Vet Med 2008; 84: 2747.
- 15. Childs JE, Robinson LE, Sadek R, Madden A, Miranda ME, Miranda NL. Density estimates of rural dog populations and an assessment of marking methods during a rabies vaccination campaign in the Philippines. Prev Vet Med 1998; 33: 207218.
- 16. Focardi S, Isotti R, Pelliccioni ER, Iannuzzo D. The use of distance sampling and mark-resight to estimate the local density of wildlife populations. Environmetrics 2002; 13: 177186.
- 17. Totton SC, Wandeler AI, Zinsstag J, Bauch CT, Ribble CS, Rosatte RC, McEwen SA. Stray dog population demographics in Jodhpur, India following a population control rabies vaccination program. Prev Vet Med 2010; 97: 5157.
- 18. Hiby RL, Reece JF, Wright R, Jaisinghani R, Singh B, Hiby EF. A mark-resight survey method to estimate the roaming dog population in three cities in Rajasthan, India. BMC Vet Res 2011; 7: 46.
- 19. Hiby RL. Estimating the number of stray dogs in greater Cairo. Final Report. Toronto, Canada: World Society for the Protection of Animals; 2005.
- 20. Beck AM. The Ecology of Stray Dogs: A Study of Free Ranging Urban Animals. Baltimore, MD, USA: York Press; 1973.
- 21. Leney J, Remfry J. Dog population management. In: Macpherson C, Meslin F, Wandeler A, editors. Dogs, Zoonoses, and Public Health. New York, NY, USA: CABI Publishing; 2000. pp. 299332.
- 22. Butler J, Bingham J. Demography and dog-human relationships of dog population in Zimbabwean communal lands. Vet Rec 2000; 147: 442446.
- 23. Kato M, Yamamoto H, Inukai Y, Kira S. Survey of the stray dog population and the health education program on the prevention of dog bites and dog-acquired infections: a comparative study in Nepal and Okayama Prefecture, Japan. Acta Med Okayama 2003; 57: 58.
- 24. Nassar R, Moiser J. Canine population dynamics: a study of Manhattan, Kansas, canine population. Am J Vet Res 1980; 41: 17981803.
- 25. Knobel DL, Cleaveland S, Coleman PG, Fevre EM, Meltzer MI, Miranda ME, Shaw A, Zinsstag J, Meslin FX. Re-evaluating the burden of rabies in Africa and Asia. Bull World Health Organ 2005; 83: 260368.
- 26. Nassar R, Moiser J. Feline population dynamics: a study of Manhattan, Kansas, feline population. Am J Vet Res 1982; 43: 167170.
- 27. Alves M, Matos M, Reichmann M, Dominguez M. Estimation of dog and cat population in the state of Sao Paulo. Rev Saude Publica 2005; 39: 17.
- 28. Jackman J, Rowan AN. Free-roaming dogs in developing countries: the benefits of capture, neuter and return programs. In: Salem DJ, Rowan AN, editors. The State of Animals IV. Washington DC, USA: Humane Society Press; 2007. pp. 5578.