Veterinary Association of Zambia (VAZ) says it is in talks with various stakeholders to ensure legal and safe dog breeding procedures among locals in order to avoid hereditary diseases.
VAZ President Ntombi Mudenda said her association has already been pressing toward licencing dog breeders but due to disregard for safe breeding by many Zambian citizens, it has become vital to have a legal regulation mechanism.
She stated that since breeding and selling of dogs had become a growing business in Zambia, there was need to ensure that customers were being sold healthy and genetically stable dog breeds.
“It is understandable that most dog owners do not necessarily have control over how their own dogs copulate, but for the people manipulating the breeding process, it is safe to ensure breeding two dogs from the same parent dog to avoid genetic disorders. It is imperative to seek consultation from experts and not rely on personal experience to avoid jeopardizing the health of puppies. ” the Doctor advised.
Dr. Mundenda further said that local government should not cease to look into the case of stray dogs and that her association was eager to work at vaccinating such dogs to avoid the spread of disease.
This comes after the Veterinary Association of Zambia (VAZ) released a statement through their secretary Amy Kingdom, calling on government to provide a regulatory framework for dog breeders.
During mid-July this year, the association raised the concern due to the increase in the number of breeding dogs like the Kennels which was mushrooming across Lusaka with no regulation.
The fear was that Kennels were being run by persons with little or no knowledge on dog breeding and without consultation from the veterinary professional.