Preventing the Spread of Disease on the Navajo Nation

The crisis of animal overpopulation is quite apparent on the Navajo Nation, an area consisting of 17,055,226 acres of land in northeastern Utah, southwestern Colorado, northeastern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico. Not only do thousands of cats and dogs die every year as a result of over-breeding, but residents are put at significant risk of attack from homeless animals who band together in packs. Injury and possible exposure to rabies are major concerns.

The majority of the 210,000 people on the Navajo Nation live on fixed incomes. Consequently, those who have pets can seldom afford the limited veterinary services available. Due to the vast area of the Navajo Nation’s land, 60 percent of the Nation does not receive sterilization services or proper veterinary preventative care for their pets.

While there are four animal control facilities spread over 26,000 square miles to deal with homeless animals, the Nation lacks the financial resources to properly equip and staff these agencies. They possess a limited supply of rabies vaccine and proper equipment to safely handle rabid or aggressive animals.

Basic vaccines to prevent such diseases as parvo, distemper, and hepatitis are lacking and sterilization services are virtually non-existent. The end result is an exploding pet population and an increasing number of animals that carry contagious diseases. The effects of the overpopulation crisis are not limited to the people who have pets; it is systemic throughout the Nation. By reducing over-breeding through sterilization and raising the level of basic animal care, people will not be exposed to contagious diseases or subjected to animal attacks -- and animals will not die from preventable diseases, starvation and neglect.