Taxing pets won't kill off rabies threat

Street dogs feed off food spread by kind strangers. Any move to address the growing number of rabies cases must take strays into account, particularly dogs and cats. (Photo by Apichit Jinakul)

The death of a 14-year-old girl in Buri Ram from rabies, the sixth fatality caused by the disease this year, has set off alarm bells telling the authorities that it's time to get serious about managing stray cats and dogs as well as regulating pet owners.

Several ideas have recently been floated, including taxing pet owners, vaccinating and sterilising stray cats and dogs, and even destroying stray animals.

Although the death toll from rabies is not high compared to other causes of death, particularly road accidents, it's increasing at an alarming rate -- six fatalities in just three months. This is worrying. Figures were lower in past years. Last year saw 11 people die from rabies. From 2011 to 2015, between 5-7 people died each year from the virus. That number jumped to 14 in 2016.