ICAM provides an ethical choice for population management of free roaming animals, an issue largely ignored by leaders but a priority for citizens.
National responses to the COVID-19 pandemic were a reminder of how a coordinated approach can be highly effective at keeping populations safe from harm.
If the origin stories are to be believed, the coronavirus was, in essence, a zoonotic contagion – passed from animals to humans.
Rabies – an almost 100% fatal disease – is another. Although largely controlled, it is still rife in many cities, and if it reaches an unvaccinated population, rabies can spread fast.
As many as 20,000 people in India (one-third of the global total) lose their lives to rabies every year; up to 60% of these are below 15 years old. The prevalence in India can be attributed to bites from the widespread population of free-roaming dogs, many of which are unvaccinated.
Until recent years, a considerable number of these deaths occurred in Jaipur, but as a result of a catch, neuter, vaccinate, and return (CNVR) programme, since 1998, the city has managed to half the free roaming dog population, reducing the rate of dog-to-human rabies infections from 7.2 in every 1,000 people to just 2.7.
This has considerable benefits, says Elly Hiby, Director of ICAM, the International Companion Animal Management Coalition. For every dollar paid out to vaccinate and, in many cases, sterilise 8,000 dogs per year, Jaipur has “saved just over eight dollars in human health costs, so it’s been incredibly cost effective”.
The Plight of Free Roaming Animals
We’re talking specifically about cats and dogs, companion animals that have developed a bond with humans over millennia. They “seek our approval, and thrive in our care,” explains ICAM’s Director of Advocacy, Patrick Gerard. As our cities grow, so too do their populations.
“Right now, about six in every ten dogs and three in every four cats globally are free roaming,” Patrick tells us. In Europe alone, there are an estimated 100 million.
Many are condemned to a hard life on the streets, where competition for food is high, shelter is hard to come by, and they’re denied medical care. “That means malnutrition, disease, and high death rates,” Patrick explains, “especially amongst puppies and kittens.”
The Issues Hounding Cities
Jaipur’s example is compelling evidence for what can be done to manage free roaming populations, and what cities stand to gain. With more pandemics predicted, the best time to act is now.
“When the dogs aren’t vaccinated, the risk of zoonotics like rabies increases,” Patrick tells us.
Other interventions can prevent some diseases: sandflies act as vectors – carriers and spreaders – of the horrific disease Leishmaniasis, which sandfly repellent collars can help keep at bay, for example. But when animal populations go unmanaged, these measures are harder to implement.
It’s not all bad. Dog and cat populations can be a positive presence in cities, even acting as a draw for tourists, such as on some Greek and Japanese islands. Where humane management is lacking, though, problems come to the surface. The issues that large, uncontrolled free roaming populations present can include:
- Disturbances and noise (worse through the night)
- Causing mess by rummaging through bins and toileting in the street
- Aggressive behaviour – especially defending young from perceived threats
- Injuries from bites and scratches, which may need medical treatment
- Collisions with vehicles endangering road safety
Sadly, where we find cats and dogs, cruelty and neglect – such as starving animals – is never far away. When visible, this can damage a city’s image, reducing its appeal for tourism, investment, and living.
If the local human population sees cats and dogs as a threat, “their tolerance can fall and sadly that can lead to more cruelty and neglect,” Patrick explains. This has significant social implications. “We know that children [are] being exposed to cruelty in the streets”, which can be emotionally scarring and influence their own poor behaviours towards animals.
Sometimes, out of defence, they bite back.
Who Takes Responsibility?
ICAM highlights that every cat and dog is, once was, or descends from a pet.
It has identified the various human behaviours that contribute to these becoming unmanaged populations, which includes:
- Companion animals that have a home but are allowed to roam and breed freely – often because households cannot afford sterilisation services or don’t have gardens of their own
- Abandonment
- Unregulated backyard breeding, where unhealthy or excess puppies and kittens are callously discarded
But ICAM is careful not to heap the blame on people, stressing the structural roots of the problem:
- limited access to affordable veterinary care
- weak or lack of animal welfare laws
- city planning that underserves the needs of companion animals and the people who care for them, such as a shortfall in provision of dog-friendly spaces
Any response must happen at the local level, but as Patrick tells us, many city leaders don’t know where to start. And given the volume of work on their shoulders, “dog and cat population management can seem less urgent” or less “glamorous” than other priorities.
This is a citizens’ issue. For them, it’s visible daily. It can be very stressful, very upsetting. So, I think there’s a mismatch between what the citizens think and what the politicians may focus on.
Elly Hiby
To think it’s not a priority is misinformed. “We know that this matters to citizens,” he continues. Even comparatively minor issues like rummaging through bins “can lead to a flood of complaints, so that’s often the intersection with the city leaders”.
Then there’s the financial benefit like that seen in Jaipur, where it’s believed the management programme averted a whopping 360,000 dog bites in a quarter of a century, saving the city 5.62 million USD!
The Wrong Response
If any action is taken at all, many cities default to mass sheltering. Or – as ICAM has witnessed in Morocco as it prepares to co-host the 2030 men’s FIFA World Cup – culling; a choice which is cruel and, ultimately, ineffective, Elly says.
This is an example of how high-profile events can prompt cities to act hastily as they prepare for an influx of international visitors. With limited resources to address the long-standing issue of free-roaming animals in its cities, Moroccan authorities are turning to what’s perceived as quick solutions, such as culling and mass sheltering.
Both, however, only address the symptoms rather than the cause of the problem. Patrick likens it to using a bucket to catch drips from a leaking roof: fix the hole or, after momentarily delaying the consequences, it will overflow.
Cats and dogs still free on the street quickly take the place of those that are impounded or killed. In the case of mass sheltering, which rarely offers hope for rehoming, pounds become full, then overcrowded, when authorities are again known to cull healthy animals.
You cannot shelter your way out of this problem. You create a vacuum, and other dogs will move in. It’s endless.
Patrick Gerard
Animal Population Management in Practice
This is why ICAM calls on cities to take an evidence-based, humane approach, and to target the root causes, not the symptoms – much of which is down to human behaviour.
For example, catch, neuter, vaccinate, and return campaigns have shown to be effective at managing the free-roaming dog populations that are cared for by the community, like those in Jaipur.
But this doesn’t happen in Cape Town, South Africa, where abandonment seems to be the sole source of free roamers, while Bangkok has a mix of the two. In both these cities, accessible sterilisation services have been effective at getting a handle on the cat and dog populations. But, as Elly points out, “they also have to deal with abandonment and commercial breeding” to prevent the ongoing arrival of new animals. “Success has come from pairing sterilisation with community engagement, behaviour change initiatives, and the supportive enforcement of animal welfare laws,” Patrick notes.
The Origins of ICAM
ICAM was registered as a charity in 2020, but the idea has been around a lot longer.
As a founding member, Elly explains that ICAM began in 2006 as an informal support group for a bunch of folks from leading animal welfare NGOs tasked with cat and dog population management. Membership now includes the Dog’s Trust, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, International Cat Care, Four Paws, World Animal Protection, Humane World for Animals, the Global Alliance for Rabies Control, and the World Small Animal Veterinary Association.
The group originally put together guidance documents, tools, and even a conference for people who share their vision for places where animals and people thrive together. After a while, however, they realised that this was creating too little change: they needed to communicate the “why” as well.
In the years since, ICAM has grown; in addition to providing technical guidance, it now advocates for change, raises awareness of humane management of free-roaming companion animals, and encourages city leaders to act. It promotes targeted, systematic, and evidence-led solutions known as Dog Population Management (DPM) and Cat Population Management (CPM) with an eye on creating healthier, more stable populations for both species.
While vaccination and sterilisation form the cornerstone of D/CPM, through its Positive Cities initiative, ICAM also campaigns for:
- Stronger animal welfare laws
- Better local veterinary care
- Good governance to underpin long-lasting improvement
- Community outreach and education programmes
- Responsible ownership
- Safe behaviour around animals
Each of these contributes to the prevention of unwanted population growth and the suffering that can occur as a result.
Positive Cities Network
The biggest hurdle, it seems, is local government buy-in.
That’s why, at UN Habitat’s 2024 World Urban Forum in Cairo, ICAM launched the Positive Cities Network; to spread awareness of what Patrick describes as a “framework for sustainable ethical success”.
Humane population management relies on collective action, bringing together departments, veterinarians, NGOs, and communities. So unlike networks that focus on individual leaders, Positive Cities is designed for local authorities as institutions.
“Any city with a commitment to humane population management is welcome to join,” Patrick confirms. To safeguard the integrity of the network, the simple application process includes a short but thorough self-assessment, verified by an independent referee such as a veterinary practice or local NGO.
“They score themselves from 1 to 10 in a drop-down menu against a set of criteria,” Patrick explains. “We’re not looking for perfection, but we do need to see a meaningful commitment to humane practices before we can bring them on board.”
Aside from being a risk management measure, this makes membership aspirational: it signals that a city is among the field leaders in humane companion animal management. “It gives them something to work towards,” Patrick explains. “City leaders want to be part of a group recognised for good practice.”
Beacons of Hope
To grease the wheels, ICAM shares widely the experiences of three beacon cities. The trio that includes Bangkok and Cape Town is completed by Ilfov, Romania, where a cultural shift has seen veterinary services integrated with education and community outreach, reducing rates of abandonment and increasing adoption from shelters.
Success in these – and other participating – cities share five key characteristics:
- Political leaders made a policy and financial commitment to animal welfare
- They work in partnership with veterinarians and NGOs
- By collecting and analysing data, these cities understand local dynamics and the root causes of their free roaming populations
- Changing residents’ behaviour is a central, strategic pillar of their commitment
- Adopting a long-term vision, especially in terms of engaging young people; Cape Town, for example, has seen a sharp increase in the number of children taking their pets to the vet
Ongoing Challenges
Now well established, ICAM is ready to welcome new addition to the Positive Cities network and see them become what Patrick describes as “beacons of compassion, where animal welfare and urban progress go hand in paw”.
Where animal welfare is not a city leader’s personal interest, potential financial gains can be extremely persuasive, but this requires substantive proof, which is hard to come by.
Jaipur is an exemplary case thanks to the charity Help in Suffering doing “a fabulous job at collecting data for 30 years,” Elly tells us. “We are trying to replicate that cost effectiveness assessment in other places. It’s incredibly difficult to do because people don’t track the relevant data consistently.”
And in places feeling less pressure from zoonotic disease, avoiding the “very large price tag” of a disease like rabies is out of sight and out of mind.
It’s for this reason that ICAM has teamed up with Metropolis and Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, to deliver a series of Solution Labs, which have so far involved 22 cities across six continents.
“The collaboration explores how cities can strengthen governance, share learning, and measure progress beyond GDP,” Patrick explains. It’s also a chance for ICAM to build relationships with city leaders and gain a deeper understanding of how humane population management contributes to healthier, more sustainable urban communities.
DPM and CPM are long-term commitments, so this understanding is essential to justify the investment of time and money that a city dedicates, Elly stresses. It’s also strong leverage “when you’re trying to talk to governments about doing anything or stopping culling”.
Advancing a Growing Trend
A shift is certainly underway. Cities are applying to join the network and, thanks to ICAM, the United Nations Forum of Mayors recently recognised animals in its urban policy documents for the first time.
And yet, during the World Urban Forum, Elly and Patrick observed that theirs was the only session that spoke about urban animal populations in any sense. “We were easily the most popular network event at that conference,” Patrick recalls. “The demand was massive because people really feel a connection… and no one’s ever spoken about it with them before.”
Aside from statistics and finances, gatherings like this are also a chance to spread the “it’s what your citizens want” narrative, which can encourage decision-makers to do the right thing. Especially when combined with reports of residents being vocal about the positive impact that a population management initiative has on their lives. Like in Bangkok, where people have been reported having “far fewer concerns and less trouble with [dogs] compared to those bits of the city that it hasn’t reached yet”.
For further information about ICAM’s Positive Cities Pledge or to make enquiries into signing up, please contact Patrick Gerard at ICAM.