Veterinarians are urging Filipinos to spay and neuter their pets to help curb the rabies epidemic in the country.
Spaying refers to the removal of the ovaries of a female animal, while neutering means the removal of the testicles of a male animal.
Castrating pets reduces their tendency to roam outdoors and be exposed to harm, as well as the number of unwanted pets and homeless animals.
“This is very important because this would reduce the chance of animals from roaming in the streets,” said Mitzi Padrinao, president of the Philippine Animal Hospital Association.
Padrinao explained that castration also reduces the risk of transmitting zoonotic diseases like rabies to humans.
“For example, if you castrate a male dog, he will never hunt a female dog again. Pheromones from female dogs will have no effects to him,” she said.
“Same as the female dog, she will never hunt for a male partner again once she gets castrated,” she added.
Spaying and neutering also reduce the chances of breast cancer and pyometra for females; prevent testicular cancer for males; and reduce chances of dog fights and catfights among males.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Veterinary Medical Association (PVMA) continues to train veterinarians in rural areas across the country to do proper castration.
“Throughout the Philippines, in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, we have visited almost all the provinces of our country. We are promoting that they understand what PVMA is doing by teaching the technique of castrating,” said PVMA president Dr. Harris Constantino.
“To all veterinarians in remote areas, they will learn more and have the confidence to learn from programs regarding castration,” he added.
He also explained that the PVMA wants to break the common misconception in the province that veterinarians just administer vaccine shots to dogs, cats and other cattle animals.
“The only thing people know about veterinarians are they are just giving injections,” said Constantino. “But now, the repopulation of companion animals has increased, the number of those who are still taking care of dogs and cats has increased. The contact with the possibility of rabies among our countrymen is higher now.”