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  • Animal Concerns: Stray Dogs Continue To Be An Issue In Capital

    ANIMAL CONCERNS: STRAY DOGS CONTINUE TO BE AN ISSUE IN CAPITAL
    By Siranuysh Gevorgyan

    ArmeniaNow
    15.12.11 | 14:45

    Stray animals in the streets of Yerevan continue to be a matter of
    concern for animal-lovers who believe that the municipality is not
    taking proper measures to solve the issue.

    Nare Aramyan representing the Armenian office of Pro Paws British
    charity organization, implementing a stray animal control project,
    told the press on Wednesday that if the number of sterilized and
    eliminated dogs reported, actually matched reality, there would not
    be a single non-sterilized stray dog in the city.

    The only organization authorized by the municipality of Yerevan to
    be in charge of this task is Unigraph-X which had been sterilizing or
    eliminating stray dogs since 2006. According to their official data,
    more than 35,000 stray dogs were sterilized between 2006 and 2010
    and around 90,000 were put away.

    Over the past two years the municipality has allotted 180 million
    drams (around $473,000) per year to the organization for the project
    implementation, and a total of 120 million drams (around $315,000)
    during the previous years.

    Aramyan claims that despite Unigraph-X's impressive data, the number
    of stray animals and their aggressiveness have, in fact, grown.

    "If the stray animal issue is settled there won't be a need for budget
    allocations any more, so if they [those in charge of the project]
    have received $3 million in six years' time, why not have as much
    [money] in another six years?" says Aramyan.

    In an interview with ArmeniaNow Lilit Grigoryan, deputy director
    of Unigraph-X, said the organization puts away stray dogs if their
    laboratory examination reveals that the dog is old, aggressive,
    infectious or a virus carrier. And if it's none of those, then it's
    sterilized. Their data for 2010 say more 25,000 have been put away
    and 11,610 sterilized. It is noteworthy that according to the recent
    years' statistics, the number of killed dogs is much higher than that
    of the sterilized.

    "Mayors change, but the stray animal control projects don't. They were,
    are and will keep killing them," Aramyan says accusingly.

    Pro Paws suggests that Armenia join international conventions for
    animal rights and pass a law that would prohibit cruel treatment of
    animals. Aramyan says that Unigraph-X does not render anesthetic to
    prepare for sterilization and the process turns into a torture.

    In response to these accusations Unigraph-X's Grigoryan says that
    they do not subject dogs to any torture, they do anesthetize and
    then only perform sterilization; and that their experts are using all
    the legally permitted medications. She says that the average cost of
    sterilization is 8,000 drams ($21) that covers also various vaccine
    shots to protect from plague and rabies, in particular.

    "It is thanks to Unigraph-X's efforts that no cases of rabies have
    been registered in Yerevan over the past years," says Grigoryan.

    She says that dogs become more aggressive in winter time when food
    is hard to find, and are calmer during warm seasons. Grigoryan
    also counterclaims that the number of stray dogs in Yerevan has not
    increased; their number is kept at an optimum level.

    "Stray animal control is done only in Yerevan, but there is a large
    stream of them coming form the provinces. If measures are taken there
    too, our work would be much more effective," says Grigoryan.

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