Understanding Dog Owners Willingness to Pay for Rabies Vaccine in Northwest Ethiopia

FENTAHUN MENGIE

Scirj Volume XIII, Issue X, October 2025 Edition
ISSN: 2201-2796

Understanding Dog Owners Willingness to Pay for Rabies Vaccine in Northwest Ethiopia

Authors: FENTAHUN MENGIE

Abstract: Rabies is a viral disease of worm blooded animals posing significant threat for both animals and human. Effectiveness of a rabies control measures depends on the commitment and collaboration of dog owners. A study was conducted to assess dog owners’ willingness to pay for to a stated price amount of rabies vaccine in North West Ethiopia. In this study the contingent evaluation method was used to evaluate willingness to pay for rabies vaccine, and interval regression analysis was used to assess willingness to pay for rabies vaccine. Questionnaires data were collected from 423 dog owners to study their willingness to pay. Dog owners were purposively selected in four Gondar zones in North West Ethiopia. Majority of dog owners (62%) were willingness to pay for the suggested price bid amounts, but the number of dog owners had shown variability when it comes to specific price bid amounts. In general, the number of dog owners that were willingness to pay for rabies vaccine decreased when price of vaccine increased. The mean WTP for rabies vaccine was 36.58 ETB (0.677 USD) per year. Monthly income was associated (P< 0.05) with WTP for rabies vaccine. Dog owners who had higher income had higher odds of WTP. Education and knowledge on vaccination coverage were negatively associated with intention to control rabies and WTP for rabies vaccine, respectively. Intervention directed at changing dog owners’ attitude and subjective norms, making rabies vaccine available to dog owners with low price, and increasing awareness of dog owners on the importance, availability and ease of implementation of anti-rabies dog vaccination are important.

Reference this Paper:
FENTAHUN MENGIE (2025). Understanding Dog Owners Willingness to Pay for Rabies Vaccine in Northwest Ethiopia. Scientific Research Journal (Scirj), Volume XIII, Issue X, October 2025 Edition, Page 21-30.

Keywords: Contingent valuation, Rabies, Dog owner willing to pay, interval regression

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