AAWS Funded AMRRIC Education DVD

AAWS Funded AMRRIC Education DVD' Caring for Dogs, Community and Country'

Eight projects across the Australian Animal Welfare Strategy were successful in the AAWS funding round last year which was announced by Federal Minister Tony Burke.

Fortunately AMRRIC, as part of the Companion Animal Working Group, was funded for one of those eight successful projects to produce an educational DVD for Environmental Health Practitioners. It will be an addition to the ‘Dog Health Programs In Indigenous Communities- An Environmental Health Practitioners Guide’.
Recently AMRRIC member Dr Samantha Phelan wrote this guide for Environmental health Practitioners (EHP’s) nationally. Her sister Danita Phelan was the illustrator. This key resource is a reference guide for people wanting to make dogs and people healthier in their own communities or in communities they work in.  It was written for the wide range of people who take part in Environmental Health Programs in communities, such as Indigenous Environmental Health Workers (EHW), Environmental Health Officers (EHO), Area Health Services and Health Boards, Departments of Local Government (DLG), State Government Environmental Health Units and Indigenous Land Councils, to name a few. ‘The book is written to help each of those people to do a better job’.

The AAWS Funded DVD will be a project that involves a number of key players.  This education DVD will enable EHP’s to educate schools, individuals, communities and groups on issues such as Stopping Skin Sores, Stopping Ticks and fleas, the benefits of desexing dogs, Stopping dog bites and what to tell children for staying safe, Stopping Worms in dogs and stopping them getting into people and Stopping dogs getting diarrhoea and spreading germs to people. It is anticipated that the project will be completed by the end of October and launched in darwin in December 2009.

West Arnhem Shire AMRRIC Consultancy

West Arnhem Shire engaged AMRRIC, as consultants, to undertake the development of their 2009-2013 Animal Welfare and Control Program Framework.

The AMRRIC Executive Officer, Julia Hardaker and team, undertook consultations with local indigenous and non indigenous community members right across the shire. All communities including Gunbalunya, Warruwi and Minjalang, Jabiru and Maningrida had their say toward the development of a workable model for their shire. The shire now have a framework based on AMRRIC's nationally accredited Best Practice Model for Animal managament in remote communities.

Bidyadanga Report

The University of Sydney’s Faculty of Veterinary Science is conducting the Healthy Dogs Healthy Communities Research Project funded by an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Grant. This project aims to investigate the impact of culturally appropriate information and training on dog health and welfare in rural and remote Indigenous communities.Animal Management in Rural and Remote Aboriginal Communities Incorporated (AMRRIC) is a project supporter and partner. AMRRIC’s role is to facilitate animal (primarily dog) health programs into the remote Indigenous communities involved in this ARC project. Bidyadanga Aboriginal Community is located on the West Australian coast, 200 kilometres south of Broome. Bidyadanga dogs are well serviced by a combination of 4 visits a year from Broome-based Nirrumbuk Aboriginal Corporation and Bidyadanga Environmental Health Worker. This program consists of mange treatment  (Cytodectin) by regularly spraying the dogs. There have been no previous veterinary visits to Bidyadanga. AMRRIC was able to engage the services of AMRRIC members,the local Broome Vets.  They were keen to continue their association with local Indigenous communities by providing a Bidyadanga dog health program. The main issue for community members in Bidyadanga was dog numbers and the prevalence of ticks. A surgery ‘suite’ was established at the Bidyadanga Sport and Recreation Centre . Nirrumbuk also provided their excellent trailer with a well-designed multi-cage dog pick up facility. They and the Bidyadanga Environmental workers collected, and returned the dogs. Environmental Health workers already widely experienced in dog handling, facilitated the veterinary team by clipping and preparing dogs for surgery.  They also played an essential role in post-operative monitoring of surgery recipients. Dr May Sabir Ali demonstrated the use of a blow dart tranquiliser and the team experimented with its use. The surgery ‘suite’ was not on a general walking path so there were few onlookers although the community was certainly encouraged to visit. Large number of dogs were given up for euthanasia in the first few days of the program. One household had more than 11 dogs. Almost a third of the dog population were euthanased. Many of these were mangey dogs and poor young dogs of 4 months of age and under. The resulting outcome is a population of approximately 100 dogs with 30% desexed. External parasites were mainly ticks. This is a seasonal problem. At least two dogs were severely anaemic. Lice and fleas were evident in only a few dogs. Remaining dogs are mostly ‘wanted’ dogs. The average number of dogs per household is below the legislated two. However with 70% of dogs not desexed this population will rapidly increase. With regular (bi-annual) access to a program such as this, the Indigenous community is empowered to take control over dog population numbers and most importantly their human and environmental health. Members can view the full report here.

 

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.

NEW! Research on Animal Abuse as a Risk Factor for Intimate Partner Violence

Professor Frank Ascione is from the University of Utah USA. He spoke at the AMRRIC Dog People Conference in Darwin in 2006 about the links between Animal Abuse ansd Human Abuse.  For more information on Professor Ascione and his papers read here. Professor Ascione has genererously forwarded Chapter 3 of his book Intimate Partner Violence Intimate Partner Violence Format: Hardcover Book © 2007 684 pp. ISBN: 1-887554-60-2 Price: US $135.95 Product Code: IPV

"Emerging Research on Animal Abuse as a Risk Factor for Intimate Partner Violence". The chapter is located in our list of library resources.

Fact Sheets

Definition of Zoonoses; A disease or agent transmitted from animals to humans.

Dogs are important in Rural and Remote Indigenous Communities however they can also be the cause of ill health in humans, both mental and physical.  For example, unhealthy dogs can pass on many diseases to people, such as gut diseases... " Gastrointestinal diseases are a major problem in young children in Indigenous communities, and an important factor in failure to thrive.  In Western Australia, hospitalisation for gastroenteritis was 7 times higher in Aboriginal children than Non-Aboriginal children (Gracey and Cullinane 2003). Diarrheal episodes were associated with the presence of potential zoonotic pathogens such as Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp., Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia spp. (Gunzburg et al 1992, Meloni et al 1993)".

AMRRIC FACT SHEETS

(more being developed)

Fact SHEETS
Zoonoses		What are the potential zoonotic pathogens from dogs in Indigenous communities?
Scabies	NEW!	How can dog scabies affect people?
Dog Bites and Child Safety		Dog bites: are an important “zoonotic” and child safety problem!
Salmonella		FACT- Salmonella always has a Zoonotic Origin
Giardia		Gastrointestinal diseases are a major problem in young children in Indigenous communities, and an important factor in failure to thrive.
Leptospirosis		Leptospirosis- Links to dogs in communities
Dog Hook worm		Dog hookworm can make people sick
Roundworm		Children are most at risk of getting sick from dog roundworms.
Streptococci		Streptococci (Streps) are bacteria that can be found on the skin of humans and dogs.
Gastrointestinal Diseases		Gastrointestinal diseases are a major problem in young children in Indigenous communities.

 

 

FaHCSIA Funding for AMRRIC

AMRRIC is very pleased to announce that funding for AMRRIC operations has been granted by the Minister for Families Housing Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) for the 2008-2009 Financial Year. AMRRIC remains positive that the Minister will agree to fund us for the next few years. The announcement from the Minister was made when an ABC National News feature regarding AMRRICs funding was aired on TV and Radio national news. AMRRIC is grateful that the Minister for FaHCSIA acknowledges the great need for work to be undertaken in this area.

Conference Proceedings

The AMRRIC one day Conference in Darwin was a real success! The States and territories came together to share models for improving the health of dogs and communities, sustainability, funding and resources was also explored. Outgoing Operational Commander of the NT Emergency Response Taskforce, Major General Dave Chalmers was the key note speaker. Minister for the Department of Local Governement Mr Rob Knight also adressed the conference attendees. Dr Samantha Phelan also presented on the soon to be released Environmental Health Practitioner Manual. The Conference Program highlights all the reasons why purchasing a copy of the CD Format Proceedings is a must. The CD contains audio visuals of each presenter, overlaid on their power point presentatio, with links to papers, abstracts and biographies.

For 2008 Conference Proceedings

• View the 2008 Conference program
• Order form COST $30 AUS

 

Missed the AMRRIC 2006 Dog People International Conference? Catch up on all the fascinating insights and information with the Dog People Conference Proceedings. Proceedings are now available and include transcripts of all the major presentations at the week-long conference, covering a wealth of information on the best ways to go about working with dog issues in Indigenous communities. Presentations include international speakers such as Frank Ascione, talking on the links between pet welfare and human welfare, and Henry Baker, who filled us in on all the latest on animal population control strategies. Local speakers included Indigenous perspectives from Alison Hunt and the latest zoonotic disease information from Professor Ric Speare.

For 2006 Conference Proceedings

• Order Form REDUCED PRICE!! $45 AUS
• View list of papers in 2006 Conference Proceedings