The owners do not store against rabies, and the great danger is already at hand
Data from the Ministry of Agriculture indicate that the rate of dogs vaccinated against rabies has decreased.
Not only is the risk of serious illness increasing, your dog's bite can cost you dearly
David Rosenthal
20/03/2022
Sunday, 20 March 2022, 07:46 Updated: 08:11
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Are we on the verge of an outbreak of rabies?
It is possible, if you take into account the decrease in the number of dog owners who make sure to vaccinate their dog, according to new data published by the Ministry of Agriculture.
According to the survey, in 2021, 390,931 dogs were vaccinated out of 576,361 - a figure that reflects a vaccination rate of 68.9 percent.
An average calculation of the last three years shows that the rate of vaccinated dogs stands at only 69.53 percent.
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The threat to public safety posed by rabies is not a purely conceptual risk.
Over the past few years, the Ministry of Health has repeatedly warned against stray dogs that have contracted rabies and that their bite could infect this serious disease.
For example, just a few weeks ago, the ministry issued a warning about a stray wild dog infected with rabies at the Yanai farm, near Hatzor HaGlilit, in the Upper Galilee.
In another case, a jackal that was diagnosed with rabies was captured in the orchards of Kibbutz Baram, located on the Lebanese border, after two people were attacked by jackals that were apparently infected with rabies in the Western Galilee region.
The Ministry of Health notes that during 2021, 28 animals were diagnosed with rabies, of which 26 were found in the northern region.
It is also noted that in recent months there has been a significant increase in the number of animals detected as rabies patients in the northern region.
Not just a conceptual risk.
Rabies-stricken dog (Photo: ShutterStock)
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture is publishing another statistic, no less disturbing: a significant increase in the number of dog bites.
Data from the National Center for Dog Registration at the Ministry of Agriculture show that during 2021 2,273 bites were reported, while in 2019 the number was 2015 'only'.
The report also examines the proportion of dangerous dogs that have been bitten: 137 such incidents have been reported over the past year, a figure that reflects a rate of 6.02 percent of all bites. The total number of bites in the last three years is 6,476.
The data (Photo: Yachz)
Number of vaccinated dogs (Photo: PR)
Dog bite statistics (Photo: PR)
Adv. Assaf Warsaw (Photo: PR)
According to Adv. Assaf Warsaw, co-chair of the Torts Forum at the Bar Association and an expert in insurance law, keeping an unvaccinated dog with rabies is a negligent act that can greatly complicate its holder, in case the dog bites.
Beyond the criminal aspects, the dog's owner may find himself facing a tort claim and being charged with paying damages amounting to tens or hundreds of thousands of shekels, depending on the nature and extent of the damage caused.
In addition, Advocate Warsaw notes that a review of the ruling shows that during 2021 dog owners paid hundreds of thousands of shekels in compensation after failing in their attempts to convince the court that they were not negligent.
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