Kunzang Namgyal was born in Kalon family of Saboo Village. He is an Animal rights activist and also the Founder cum President of Ladakh Animal Care Society which was started in the year 2006.

Concerned about the increasing menace of stray dogs in the city, Reach Ladakh asked the Ladakh Animal Care Society about what steps has been taken in this regard. Although animal birth control programme and anti-rabies vaccine programme is adopted, the stray dog menace still persists in Ladakh. The stray dog population has increased drastically. The birth control programme targeted to control the dog population and keep the population static hasn’t been successful. Lack of civic sense among the people is another reason that has led to increasing stray dog menace. According to SNM Hospital Data, around 585 dog bites cases have been registered in one year i.e. from January 2013 to January 2014. Now with the Ladakh Animal Care Society taking an initiative, participants are required to help them to control stray dog menace.

Q. Could you tell us about your Childhood and educational background?

I was born in Saboo Village. I did part of my schooling from Lamdon Model School Leh, Moravian Institute Dehradun and then from Chandigarh. I studied till 1st year of Graduation only. Since I came from a very well-to-do family I thought of doing some charitable work and I landed up founding Ladakh Animal care society.

Q. Tell us about the Ladakh Animal care. How the idea of starting Ladakh Animal care Society came in your mind?

Ladakh Animal Care Society was founded in 2006 and is dedicated to provide veterinary care to stray animals. The organization runs in partnership with World Animals Foundation Dutch. Ingrid Smolder of World Animals Foundation Netherland started ABC-AR (Animal Birth Control- Anti Rabies) programme in Leh. Usually, we have volunteers from Vets Beyond Borders, an Australian-based organization to carry out sterilization surgeries in summers; we are running it for the first time in winter. I came to know about Animal welfare organizations like Jeevashram Foundation, The Friendicoes-SPCA, People for Animals and many other such organizations in the country and inspired by their initiatives I decided to run an animal care organization in Ladakh. We Ladakhis are known by outsiders as very kind and peaceful. But how bad it seems when we see animals lying on the road injured and dead with nobody to take care of them. This washes away the good impression that the outsiders have about us. Before we started Ladakh Animal care society, the LAHDC Government used to poison stray dogs whenever the dogs were found creating any nuance or biting someone.

Q. Is this Job more about money or more about passion for you?

Making money out of this initiative is not my intention at all. Through the land property that I have inherited from my family, I always wanted to do some contribution to society and luckily I did it by donating a piece of land for running this organization.

Q. How many employees do you have at present?

At present, we have only 4-5 employees. But in summer a group of volunteers from ‘Vets Beyond Borders’ run clinical training and sterilization programmes. Basically, the job needs a huge number of workforce. The municipality is very supportive in bringing the dogs here for sterilization surgeries and then taking them back to the place from where they were caught.

Q. Dog menace has become a great issue in Ladakh and all over India. What according to you is the best solution to control dog menace?

Sterilization is the best solution. This needs support from the public, the Army and the police. One of the greatest contributors to create dog menace problem in Leh is the Army. They feed kitchen waste to the dogs and when their population increases, they dump them anywhere. It is necessary that police should open check posts at places like Kharu and Khaltse to ensure that dogs are not dumped in populated areas.

Q.  On an Average how many dogs been neutered or sterilized here in the last year or till date? From where do you get grants and donations?

We have neutered around 10,000 dogs till date. Maneka Gandhi, who is the founder of the Animal Welfare Board of India, which is the largest Animal welfare organization in Asia, has been a great support. CEC LAHDC Rigzin Spalbar was incredibly helpful to us. In the past, there was no road to the clinic. The LAHDC administration provides everything from dogcatcher, transportation to all the facilities available here. Animal Husbandry Leh has been very helpful in providing veterinary doctors to perform the surgeries.

Q. What do you do when stray dogs are brought here for sterilization? How much do you charge when pet dogs are brought here for sterilization?

For instance, someone brings a dog for sterilization in the evening. We don’t feed the dog till the sterilization or surgery is over the next day. It is similar as with human being. As per ‘Animal Welfare Board of India’ and ‘Society for the Prevention of cruelty to the Animals (SPCA)’ rules, we need to keep the sterilized dogs here for 3 days post-operative care. Since the dog had to undergo a surgery we need to be careful that the sore it had got during the operation might not get untied and starts bleeding, whether the dog is eating properly or have completely recovered or not. If the dog shows the sign of complete recovery, we drop it back to the place from where it was caught. We don’t charge money for sterilization of pet dogs but for stray dogs the LAHDC administration gives Rs. 245 per dog.
 
Q. Is feeding stray dogs adding to the problem? Any cases of rabies registered in Leh?

Feeding stray dogs is a generous act but at the same time, they should be brought here to be spayed or neutered. A year back a person from Changthang died of rabies contracted from a dog bite.

Q. How fatal is the dog biting?

It’s indeed very fatal. So, when someone gets bitten by a dog, the person should be vaccinated immediately. Though we administer the anti-rabies vaccine to the dogs but providing booster vaccination regularly is important to keep the dogs protected from diseases.
 
Q. Killing is not the solution, then how to protect them?

According to a survey conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) says that killing is not the supreme solution for controlling stray dog menace. In a place like Ladakh, people will not bear or support such act of killing. Many countries do see killing as the solution to control stray dog menace. But In India, we have organization like Animal Welfare Board of India and SPCA to prohibit the killing of stray dogs except in special cases, for instance when they are rabid or terminally ill. The rules say that stray dogs can only be removed from their habitats for neutering and immunization against rabies. The only solution is to sterilize them. And to carry out dog immunization drives effectively we are planning to run a mobile clinic at Khaltse, Nyoma and some other places. It’s really necessary for Changthang region because dogs are seen as a major threat to the population of black-necked cranes.

Q. Is adopting stray dogs a solution to control and protect them?

Indeed that’s a very good solution. Till now we’ve not done any awareness programme about Animal protection and care, we are definitely planning to organize dog adoption programme everywhere in Ladakh. Since the crime rate is increasing in the city, adopting a dog will be a great benefit also. Also, this will keep in control the population of dogs. Before we started this sterilization programme, people used to adopt only male dogs. Now people can adopt female dogs also because they are also as quick and as protective as the males. We are also planning to set up a Jeev ashram or Animal shelter in the near future.

Message to the readers

"If each of us adopts one dog, this would make a huge difference and the problem of stray dog menace will automatically get solved. Awareness programs and discussions are essential and in this media can play a very effective role. If anyone found sick and injured they can contact us at 9622995432 and inform us."