Veterinary Association criticises Health Ministry for poorly managed sterilisation programmes

The Association of Veterinarians for Humane Management of Animal Population has raised serious concerns about how the Health Ministry is running the country’s animal sterilisation programmes. 

The group says poor planning and bad management have stopped the programme from showing real results.

Dr. Chamith Nanayakkara, an advisor to the association, spoke out against a statement by Deputy Minister of Health Dr. Hansaka Wijemuni in Parliament today. 

Dr. Nanayakkara said that if the Health Ministry’s sterilisation programme was done properly, there wouldn’t be stray dogs everywhere, not even in highly secured places like Parliament.

He pointed out that the Department of Animal Production and Health (DAPH) has 337 skilled veterinary doctors working across the country. But, according to him, the Health Ministry has not made good use of them because there is no proper plan or good management for sterilisation and vaccination programmes.

Dr. Nanayakkara said that although the government approved Rs. 200 million for sterilisation programmes in the 2025 budget, none of the money has been used yet. He added that last year too, Rs. 200 million was approved, but only Rs. 100 million was spent, and the rest was wasted.

He explained that the reason the sterilisation programme isn’t working is not because sterilisation doesn’t work but because the Health Ministry is not handling the programme properly. He believes that if the programme had been given to the DAPH, the stray dog problem would already be under control.

Dr. Nanayakkara also claimed that some officials in the Health Ministry have turned the rabies vaccination programme into a business and are stopping the DAPH from taking over the sterilisation work.

He said that their association has informed the Health Minister about this issue. However, some Ministry officials continue to block the programme, even going around the Minister’s orders.

He added that no sterilisation work has been done this year because the Health Ministry hasn’t given any money to the provinces for it.

Dr. Nanayakkara called on the Health Minister to look into why the Ministry is refusing to hand over the sterilisation programme to the DAPH, even though they have trained veterinary doctors ready to do the job.