Bureau of Animal and Vector Control

From left: EHS III Marilou Bumagat and EHS I Teresa Gutierrez
From left: EHS III Marilou Bumagat and EHS I Teresa Gutierrez

 

About the Bureau of Animal and Vector Control

The Bureau of Animal and Vector Control administers the programs associated with the surveillance and control of animals and vectors through the implementation of Title 10 GCA, Chapters 20, 35-37, and Section 38103 of Chapter 38, to prevent the introduction and/or the spread of zoonotic diseases. The staff of the Bureau conduct sanitation inspections and investigations of public and private premises for violations associated with animals/vectors, and surveys and controls mosquitoes, rodents, and other pest species.

Relevant sections of the title 10 Guam Code Annotated

§20107. Public Nuisance. Any condition which the Director deems a public nuisance shall be subject to immediate abatement. Every person who maintains or commits any public nuisance on either public or private property or who willfully omits to perform any legal duty relating to the removal of a public nuisance is guilty of a misdemeanor.

§20108. Public Nuisance on Private Property. Every person who maintains, permits or allows a public nuisance to exist upon his property and every person occupying or leasing the property of another who maintains, permits or allows a public nuisance to exist thereon after receiving personal notice in writing from the Director or Attorney General to discontinue or abate same is guilty of a misdemeanor.

What about livestock and poultry?

TITLE 10 Guam Code Annotated (GCA)
10 GCA- HEALTH AND SAFETY DIV. 2 – ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
CHAPTER 35
LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY

§ 35101. Confinement of Animals. No pigs, goats, sheep, horses, cattle, carabao or other domestic animals shall be allowed to run loose or be at large. All such animals must be confined by fencing or be kept properly secured by tying or staking.

§35102. Exclusion of Animals. No owner or occupant shall keep or allow to be kept upon any premises owned by him, or in his possession or control, any pigs, horses cattle, sheep, goats or carabao in any residential area except those zoned in agricultural areas. Poultry or fowl may be kept upon any premises provided the number does not exceed twenty (20), they are kept fifty (50) feet away from any building, and, they are kept clean and free, from any accumulation of excreta, decayed food and filth of every kind.

§35013. Sanitation. All houses, yards, coops, hutches, kennels, pens, paddocks, barns, stables or other structures or enclosures for any fowl or animal shall be kept clean and free from any accumulation of excreta, decayed food and filth of every kind. All such structures and enclosures shall be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition.

§35104. Food Storage. Food shall be stored only in rodent-proof boxes, bins, or rooms.

Inside the Bureau of Animal and Vector Control

  • Mosquito Surveillance and Control Program

    To prepare and respond to potential mosquito-borne outbreaks, it is important that effective surveillance be conducted and maintained, which requires properly trained and equipped personnel with the capacity to trap, collect, analyze, and identify mosquitoes and their larvae.