Sociodemographic factors and dog ownership practices that perpetuate the roaming of owned dogs in selected urban and rural settings in Uganda

We analyzed dog care practices among 1,006 owners in urban and rural areas in Uganda to identify the root causes of roaming. The dog owners were mostly male, aged 20–39 years, and low-income earners. Each household in urban areas had an average of 2.36 dogs (SD 3.35), and 2.35 dogs (SD 2.18) in rural areas. We determined that 16.1% of urban dogs and 29.4% of rural dogs roamed during the day, with numbers rising to 26.0% and 65.2% at night (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.001), due to dogs being released at night for security purposes. Key drivers of roaming included inadequate confinement, particularly the lack of a secure enclosure around homes, underfeeding and abandonment. These issues were linked to poverty, low education and poor attitudes. Our findings provide a foundation for developing tailored strategies to control free-roaming dogs (FRD) in Uganda. Short-term solutions include implementing fines for owners who allow their dogs to roam, subsidized dog sterilization, and public education programs. Long-term strategies should involve policies on dog ownership, registration, breeding, and research to develop evidence-based control measures for FRD.

本研究针对乌干达城乡地区1006名犬只主人的养犬实践展开分析，旨在明确犬只游荡行为的根本成因。受访犬主多为20至39岁的男性低收入群体。城镇地区每户平均养犬2.36只（标准差SD=3.35），农村地区每户平均养犬2.35只（标准差SD=2.18）。研究显示，日间城镇犬只游荡率为16.1%，农村为29.4%；夜间游荡率分别升至26.0%与65.2%（p<0.001），该差异源于夜间犬只被放出用于家庭安保目的。导致犬只游荡的核心驱动因素包括约束措施不足——尤其是家庭周边缺乏安全围栏、喂食不足以及犬只遗弃行为。上述问题均与贫困、受教育程度低下及养犬观念偏差密切相关。本研究结果为乌干达制定针对性的自由游荡犬（free-roaming dogs, FRD）管控策略奠定了基础。短期解决方案包括对放任犬只游荡的主人处以罚款、提供犬只绝育补贴，以及开展公众养犬教育项目。长期策略则应涵盖犬只饲养、登记、繁育相关政策制定，以及开展研究以制定循证的自由游荡犬管控措施。