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The estimates vary with each survey and it should be pointed out that Japan is not the only country with this problem.

Although this disease can cross to humans, infection in humans as a result of contact with dogs is incredibly rare. The bacteria is also quite easy to eliminate in humans with the use of antibiotics.

(Actually more people pick up infections from a visit to hospital - and more serious ones than Brucellosis)

If the situation is judged to be such a public health hazard it opens the door to legislation requiring that any dog found to be infected is a danger to human health and should be destroyed.

The disease can be successfully treated in dogs, although they do not respond to antibiotics as readily as humans.

The Prefecture should be not be allowed to carry out its threat to destroy these dogs. All dog lovers in Japan should be actively opposing this step.

In 1999, the Japanese Parliament passed a revised Animal Protection Law (Doubutsu Aigo* Kanri Hou).

This new law permits criminal prosecution for "cruelty" and "neglect" of animals.

Before this law's enactment, prosecution was possible for abuse of other's animals, but not abuse of those in one's possession.

Irresponsible dog owners were free to abuse their own pets without legal or civil repercussions.

This new law authorizes the arrest and prosecution of willful abuse and neglect regardless of ownership.

* Aigo is a term in Japanese that is associated with "Love" and is interpreted to add the value 'Humane' to the animal welfare law.

If you examine this law it may be construed that the Osaka Prefecture should be prosecuted for its failure to alleviate the suffering of these dogs and for its deliberate attempts to prevent others from taking remedial action to alleviate their suffering and provide medical attention and proper housing and care.

If the Prefecture is the legal owner of the dogs then they have a duty of care to provide proper housing, medication, exercise and supervision, which for the most part they have failed to do.

If they are not the legal owners, they have certainly taken over legal responsibility by impounding the dogs and restricting access and are therefore abusing the animals of another.

In this instance their abuse and neglect is obviously 'willful' and 'Aigo' is not present.

This - we understand - is how you would approach a Brucellosis infection in your breeding kennels to try and prevent its spread and deal with infected dogs. Click on the title for more information on the disease.

Test all dogs present in unit - separate positive and negative dogs - with positive dogs, isolate individual dogs and treat with antibiotics and spay or castrate.

Negative dogs should be isolated where possible and treated with antibiotics as a precaution if it is the intention that they may be bred from once guaranteed cleared of infection.

If there is no intention to include them in future breeding programs, spay or castrate.

Failure to do so puts the uninfected tested dogs in the position of being exposed to infection from the infected dogs.

As positive tests are sometimes misleading - as has been the case here with some of the dogs that tested negative second time round - the infected dogs should have been individually isolated.

Failure to take these basic actions in the early days of this case has increased the problem, number of infected dogs and cost of dealing with them as well as subjected them all to unnecessary suffering.

WAG - Welfare for Animal Global - http://www.wagny.org

This organisation - run by Marijo Gillis, is an international political lobby and advocacy force based in New York City. The purpose of WAG is to expose the brutal abuse and blatant neglect of all animals - companion, farmed, captive, and wild - especially in areas that may lie beyond the interest and curiosity of well funded international animal welfare societies and the major media. Support WAG and help animals Worldwide.

Copyright - Border Collie Rescue - 3037504

Border Collie Rescue is a UK based charity, working Internationally to Rescue and Re-home Border Collies and Working Sheepdogs and promote a better understanding of the breed and its Welfare.