BHUTAN: In a bid to safeguard its indigenous dog breed, Changkhyi, Bhutan has inaugurated a state-of-the-art conservation center at Yuesipang in Thimphu. The Bhutan Live reported that the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock spearheaded the opening of this center, which currently houses 55 Changkhyi dogs. The primary objective of this initiative is to protect and preserve the native Bhutanese dogs through a comprehensive 100% sterilization program for stray dogs.
The Changkhyi Conservation Center boasts several essential facilities, including grooming services, a well-equipped kitchen, a store, office spaces, hygienic toilets, two caretaker's houses, a spacious main dog kennel, and dedicated treatment and surgery rooms. The government invested Nu 26 million to construct the center, along with necessary infrastructure such as roads, drainage systems, and fencing, supported by the National Waste Management and Stray Dog Population flagship program.
Construction of the center commenced in June of the previous year and reached completion in March 2023. At present, the center is home to 16 male dogs, 25 females, and 14 adorable puppies, according to the report. Kinley Dorji, the Team Leader of NADPM & RCP, expressed the rationale behind this conservation effort, stating, "With our commitment to achieving 100% coverage of free-roaming dog sterilization, we recognized the need to safeguard these dogs for the future. By doing so, we can readily retrieve free-roaming dogs from Bhutan whenever required, directly from these centers," as reported by The Bhutan Live.
Moreover, Dorji emphasized that by conserving the native dogs, the center could also serve Bhutanese farmers by providing them with dogs to protect their crops from wild animals. In partnership with the National Biodiversity Center, the Changkhyi Conservation Center will conduct genetic studies using blood samples sent to South Korea. If any of the dogs are found to lack native characteristics, they will be relocated to the Nakulu dog center. Notable features of the Changkhyi dogs include raised or erect ears, elevated tails, long snouts, robust limbs, and tucked abdomens.
Kinley Dorji further explained that they are currently engaged in gene profiling to determine if the stray dogs in Bhutan have any genetic lineage from other dogs, particularly the Tibetan mastiff or breeds imported from outside Bhutan. Dorji stated, "We want to ensure that our collection consists solely of pure Bhutanese free-roaming dogs. In the future, we aim to develop a unique breed specific to Bhutan," as reported by The Bhutan Live.
The Nationwide Accelerated Dog Population Management and Rabies Control Programme have already sterilized more than 61,600 dogs across Bhutan. With 100% sterilization achieved in 19 districts, except for Samdrup Jongkhar, the Department of Livestock, in collaboration with DeSuung, initiated this comprehensive program in August 2021 with the ambitious goal of reducing dog bites and eliminating human deaths from rabies by 2030.
