Ahead of the Esala season, the Blue Paw Trust (BPT) together with the Kataragama Pradeshiya Sabha have made arrangements to eradicate rabies from the sacred city through vaccinating and sterilizing stray dogs. The program will be held during the second week of June. It is has been discovered that there are around 250 stray dogs in the Kataragama town, the Kiriwehera vicinity and the Devala area alone. Over 100 stray dogs were found in the Sella Kataragama area. All stray dogs on the streets of Kataragama will be given anti-rabies vaccinations while female stray dogs will be sterilized and vaccinated. Since President Mahinda Rajapaksa introduced the No Kill Policy, the BPT has been implementing a humane dog population control and rabies eradication program in Colombo and the suburbs. Individuals and organizations who wish to make contributions towards this program can obtain more details from BPT on 0777780430 or 0777748261. The BPT is a non profit organization, working in collaboration with the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) to carry out successful programs to vaccinate and sterilize stray dogs in Colombo. A five year agreement has been signed with the Colombo Municipal Council in order to implement this plan. BPT's strategic plan was recognized internationally and WSPA has recommended it as a Model Plan to promote eradication of rabies and dog population control in South East Asia.