DEMOGRAFI DAN KEPADATAN POPULASI ANJING DI WILAYAH PANTAI TIMOR BARAT, NUSA TENGGARA TIMUR.

Wera, Ewaldus; Jermias, Johanis A.; Bulu, Petrus M.; Kaka, Hendrina Lero

The beach area of West Timor has many traditional ports and is a transit area for fishermen to and from the island of Timor. Transmission of rabies through these traditional ports is very likely to occur, placing West Timor in the category of high-risk areas of contracting rabies in the future. The availability of demographic data and dog population density in the beach areas of West Timor is very important to develop effective and efficient control of rabies in the event of an outbreak in the future. This study was aimed to collect demographic data and estimate the dog density in the beach areas of West Timor. The survey was conducted in June-August 2021. The results showed that the dog population density in the beach areas of West Timor ranged from 98-333 dogs per km² and was dominated by male dogs, aged more than one year with a moderate body condition score. The dominant number of males has the potential to accelerate the rate of disease transmission in the event of an outbreak of a zoonotic disease such as rabies. This is quite reasonable because the home range of male dogs is much wider than female dogs. Furthermore, the presence of dogs aged more than one year (62%) and freely roaming in public areas will potentially increase the growth rate of the dog population, as this group of dogs will reproduce uncontrollably. For this reason, education on dog health management needs to be done to stabilize the dog population’s growth in the future.

Jurnal Veteriner, 2023, Vol 24, Issue 3, p365

1411-8327

Academic Journal

10.19087/jveteriner.2023.24.3.365