Vietnam: What safety measures must dog and cat owners take in public places to prevent and control rabies?
What safety measures must dog and cat owners in Vietnam take in public places?
On March 14, 2024, the Prime Minister issued Official Telegram No. 22/CD-TTg 2024 on focusing on strictly implementing rabies prevention and control.
According to Section 1 of Official Telegram No. 22/CD-TTg 2024, Presidents of People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities must:
Presidents of People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities must:
a/ Step up the work of information, propaganda and raise people's awareness and responsibilities and guide people to strictly abide by the provisions of law in keeping and managing dogs, cats, and other animals at risk of causing diseases, especially vaccination, and prevention, fight rabies for dogs and cats; fully implement rabies injections and prophylaxis when bitten by animals, especially dogs and cats.
b/ Guide and request owners of households keeping dogs, cats, and other animals at risk of causing the disease to commit to strictly and fully comply with regulations on keeping, keeping, and managing, especially the declaration, vaccination, and prevention and control of rabies; do not unbridle dogs and cats at public places, crowded places, residential areas and apartments, manage and fully take measures to ensure the safety of people around (especially dogs must be wearing muzzles, leashes and guided by human) and ensure environmental hygiene.
c) Strictly vaccinate against rabies for dogs and cats, ensuring that at least over 80% of the total dog and cat herd in each area is vaccinated against rabies in 2024 and the following years.
d/ Direct People's Committees at all levels, concerned departments and branches, especially veterinary and health agencies to promptly supervise, warn and apply rabies prevention and control measures; make statistics, synthesis, complete and accurate reporting of information on dog households, number of dogs raised, rabies vaccination in neighborhoods, residential areas, villages and communes and the situation of rabies to the Animal Disease Information System (VAHIS).
dd) Direct to strictly handle violations of legal provisions in keeping and managing dogs and cats; investigate, prosecute and resolutely handle cases of failure to comply with regulations in keeping and managing dogs and cats to have serious consequences as prescribed by law.
e) Direct the review, clarify responsibilities, strictly handle collectives, individuals and heads of government at all levels who are still subjective and neglectful in leading and directing the work of rabies prevention and control, especially in places where many cases of people dying from rabies occur (such as in Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Binh Phuoc, Ben Tre, Nghe An, Dien Bien provinces) and where the rabies vaccination rate for the total dog herd is less than 10% (such as in Quang Binh, Hau Giang, Binh Dinh and Quang Nam provinces).
g) Review and adjust local rabies prevention and control plans in 2024 and the following years, proactively allocate sufficient resources to effectively implement rabies prevention and control measures and accomplish the objectives of the "National Program on Rabies Prevention and Control during 2022 - 2030".
h) Establish a working group to directly inspect and urge localities where the rabies vaccination rate for dogs and cats is low and where many people die from rabies, vaccinate against rabies and control and manage dogs and cats.
Thus, dog and cat owners in Vietnam are not allowed to unbridle dogs and cats in public places, crowded places, residential areas, and apartments, manage and fully take measures to ensure the safety of people around (especially dogs must be wearing muzzles, leashes and guided by human).
In addition, dog and cat owners also must ensure environmental hygiene in public and crowded places and strictly vaccinate against rabies for dogs and cats.
What is the fine imposed on entities failing to vaccinate against rabies for their dogs in Vietnam?
According to Point a, Clause 2, Article 7 of Decree 90/2017/ND-CP, amended by Clause 3, Article 2, Decree 04/2020/ND-CP on violations against regulations on prevention of diseases of terrestrial animals as follows:
Violations against regulations on prevention of diseases of terrestrial animals
...
2. A fine ranging from VND 1,000,000 to VND 2,000,000 shall be imposed for committing one of the following violations:
a) Failure to vaccinate against rabies for animals subject to compulsory vaccination;
...
Thus, entities failing to vaccinate against rabies for their dogs in Vietnam may be administratively fined from 1,000,000 VND to 2,000,000 VND.
What is the fine imposed on entities failing to muzzle their dogs in public places in Vietnam?
Under Clause 2, Article 7, Decree 90/2017/ND-CP (amended by Clause 3, Article 2, Decree 04/2020/ND-CP) stipulating penalties for failure to muzzle a dog or cat as follows:
Violations against regulations on prevention of diseases of terrestrial animals
...
2. A fine ranging from VND 1,000,000 to VND 2,000,000 shall be imposed for committing one of the following violations:
....
b) Failure to muzzle a dog or failure to put a dog on a chain or lead a dog at public places.
...
Thus, entities failing to muzzle or put their dogs on a chain, or lead them in public places shall be fined from 1,000,000 VND to 2,000,000 VND.
Note: The above fines are fines imposed on individuals. For organizations that commit similar administrative violations, fines will be doubled (according to the provisions of Clause 2 Article 4 of Decree 90/2017/ND-CP amended by Clause 3 Article 3 of Decree 07/2022/ND-CP)
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