n an attempt to deal with rising stray dog population, Bhutan Prime Minister Dr Lotay Tshering in a recent announcement has asked citizens to adopt stray dogs or plant trees or commit to waste management procedures, which will serve as “gifts” to the King’s 40th birthday today.
The country celebrated the birthday of its king, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck on Friday at the at Changlimithang stadium and the Prime Minister served as the chief guest of the event.
Taking to a social media post, the Prime Minister said, “Taking inspiration from His Majesty and re-dedicating to work towards His Majesty’s aspirations for the country, the Prime Minister announced several programs in the areas of economy, education, health and technology. The programs will be launched over the period of one year.”
It further added that, “At an individual level, Prime Minister said one can choose to plant a tree and care for it, adopt a stray dog or commit to manage waste in your neighborhood. Personal commitment such as this, he said, would be the best gift for His Majesty.”
Following the announcement of the minister, Bhutanese journalist and mental health advocate Namgay Zam took to the micro-blogging site Twitter to say, “….My fiance and I have adopted 3 strays already. :)”
In no time, Zam’s post was filled with love and praises as netizens hailed the move by the government, while many even urged other countries to adopt such similar policies.
According to reports Bhutan has been lately grappling with the overt population of its stray dogs and as per the country’s national daily, this problem has often led to various more issues.
The present move has, therefore, been praised by the Chief veterinarian Officer with Department of Livestock Dr Karma Rinzin. He said that the new initiative will facilitate more people to adopt stray dogs and make them take the entire ownership of the animals.
Hiranmay Karlekar