Minjalang Dog Program Story Jan 09

Minjalang community is located on Croker Island, north east of the Coburg Peninsula, West Arnhem Shire. With a population of approximately 300 people it is the most northerly inhabited part of the Northern Territory. There was an “urgent “ problem of “skinny, mangey dogs seen around the school”. This resulted in a decision by the Shire to carry out an Ivermectin program, with a concurrent  census and injectable dog population control program as soon as possible. AMRRIC member, Dr Judith Mulholland BSc VMS, has provided veterinary support to both Warruwi and Minjilang communities over the past two years. The DHP occurred on 14th January 2009, despite storm warnings from Minjalang before the Air Frontier charter left Darwin. Northern Land Council Rangers, Freddy Gabiya and Captain Brown, were  local support staff for the day. Both Freddy and Captain had previous experience in the last veterinary program in May ‘08 with Dr Judith Mulholland. Their work greatly enhanced the outcome of the program. Local staff are critical to facilitating community engagement and cooperation, without them, many dollars and much time can be wasted in delivering a dog health program.  Freddy and Captain(right) were trained in preparation of the Ivermectin doses and assisted in administering doses to all the dogs in the community. Freddy and Captain have the ability to continue regular Ivermectin programs in Minjalang in the future. The adult population numbers 128. However, at least 47 pups of 6 weeks of age and under were sighted, bringing the total number of dogs in Minjalang to at least 175. One household had 27 dogs – 14 adults and 13 tiny pups. A multitude of births appear to have occurred in early Dec 2008. The condition of the dogs is slightly below normal with an average Body Condition Score (BCS) of 4.8 ( in the range of 1-9, 5 is ideal). 19% of dogs exhibited a range of degrees of skin conditions (usually sarcoptic mange, dog scabies).  No fleas or ticks were noted. 33  of the adult dogs (26%) in Minjalang had already been desexed. Medical conditions seen included many lamenesses, healed broken legs and several scaldings (nuisance dogs are often subjected to boiling water). Other animals seen on the community were penned pigs and poultry. Community dogs are medium to small in size. There is no evidence of specific breeding for large or hunting breeds. They were fairly friendly with the usual timidity of community dogs. Outcomes from this visit include a reduction in environmental faecal contamination, unrestrained breeding, public nuisance (noise, rubbish spread, fights),  zoonotic disease,  and sick and dying unwanted puppies, to name a few. Access to a program such as this (and more particularly surgical desexings) on a regular basis, empowers the Indigenous community to exercise control over dog population numbers and most importantly their human and environmental health and safety. Hopefully West Arnhem Shire will make the decision in the near future to continue with Jude’s regular twice yearly visits to both Croker and Goulburn Islands. Generally not only is there an improvement in the health and welfare of the dogs but also of the community itself. AMRRIC members can access a full copy of the report here.