Leona Lewis Promotes Collars Not Cruelty on World Rabies Day

Through her music she expresses timeless emotions, and now as a supporter of WSPA’s Red Collar campaign Leona Lewis is using her voice to speak for innocent souls who are running out of time.

Twenty million dogs — 38 every minute– are killed each year in an ineffective effort to stop rabies in highly affected regions around the globe. Hoping to put an end to the useless euthanization of street dogs, on World Rabies Day the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) is calling on governments in these countries to embrace the humane solution of mass vaccinations.

“I think it’s absolutely horrific that 20 million dogs are killed every year because of the fear of rabies when there is an alternative solution,” said WSPA celebrity spokesperson Leona Lewis. “I really want to help WSPA spread the word worldwide and end the cruelty that is happening at the moment. By educating people and getting vaccinations out there, we’re not only helping dogs, but entire communities.”

Ray Mitchell, WSPA’s International Campaigns Director, states: “Rabies poses a serious threat to both human and animal populations in many parts of the world. When confronted with the problem of this fast-spreading disease, national governments sometimes turn to what they believe is the only way to wipe out rabies: wipe out the dog population. However, a world without rabies does not have to mean a world without dogs.”

Having already led successful rabies control projects in Bali, where 300,000 dogs have been saved from death by strychnine;  Sri Lanka, where just 10 cases of rabies were reported in 2010 as a result of wide-spread vaccination of dogs in the city; and a number of Latin American countries, where cases of rabies in animals has decreased by more than 99 per cent, WSPA is currently tackling the problem in Bangladesh, where the national government is implementing a large-scale  dog vaccination campaign in the town of Cox’s Bazar. Positive results from the project will encourage a future nation-wide vaccination campaign.

For more information regarding the Red Collar campaign:

• visit www.wspa-international.org

Related page:

September 28th is World Rabies Day

In the following video, Leona Lewis explains the new accessories worn by vaccinated animals– red collars which mean a dog’s safety from both rabies and the fear which has led to mass canine cullings: (ADVISORY: Contains disturbing images.)

Photo Credit: World Society for the Protection of Animals

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