Stop killing our dogs, CBC!

Letting animal welfare be so far neglected is merely an example of the level of apathy we’ve reached as a nation.

“I came back home at night and found Sandy dead, my maid boy told me CBC van came and shot her, her body was just lying there covered in bullet wounds, her four puppies were left behind from which one died of poisoning, two were rescued by Mustafa Ahmed and the last one ran away and is yet to be found...” - Hira Sami

These are the heart-breaking words of a citizen of Karachi who took care of Sandy the stray dog for the last two months. Coming home from work to find your beloved stray, one you’ve been taking care of, is not only depressing, it’s downright infuriating, frustrating and what nightmares are made of. Hira’s painful experience is sadly one of several. Just recently someone’s six stray dogs were poisoned in Bath Island. I myself have lost nine strays to poisoning several years ago, and witnessed half-alive dogs with bullet wounds, gasping for breath.

This cleansing of stray dogs in Karachi, specifically in the Clifton Cantonment area, needs to be brought to an end. It is an assault to humanity, it is a heinous campaign that disregards an animal’s right to live and share this land of ours. Our friends at Home Four Paw and Claw (HFPC) are daily rescuing and evacuating strays in various locations under the Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC), who are at risk of being shot dead like they just don’t matter. Many of the injured, mothers and puppies are being relocated to shelters like the Ayesha Chundrigar Foundation or Edhi Animal Shelter, but for the most part the healthy dogs are being sent to ‘dog-friendly’ locations where they are not at risk of being gunned down barbarically nor pose a threat to any people.

How we as a society, as a nation, can let animal welfare be so far neglected is merely an example of the level of apathy we’ve reached.

So what do we do to save man’s best friend from being killed in cold blood?

The solution is simple.

With organisations like HFPC and fellow volunteers willing to donate their time and effort, we request CBC to put an end to the needless shooting and poisoning of stray dogs and instead ask for a chance to implement a more humane plan of relocation, vaccination, spaying and neutering.

We could resolve the alleged ‘dog problem’ but for that we would require the assistance of our fellow citizens and officials to help make it happen in a civilised way. We have shelters and other animal welfares on board to support us and we require nothing from Clifton Cantonment except to put a stop to shooting and poisoning dogs.

We will spay, neuter, give rabies shots and release the dogs in an area that is not an inconvenience for the residents of Karachi. It is our duty as human beings, as a nation with the potential to be so amazingly great, to protect the voiceless creatures from being treated in such a heinous way. Shooting the dogs dead, most of them left half alive with bullet wounds, dying a slow painful death, is not something we should even wish on our worst enemies.

I understand that the stray dog population may be a ‘hazard’ to those who are not animal lovers or animal friendly, but we have a sure shot way of solving the problem with the effective solution at hand.

Please read the plan below, a simple solution that works for everyone.

The plan

1. Provide numbers to CBC and other residents to call in case of a ‘dog problem’ in the area.

2. Upon calling those numbers, our team of volunteers will come to the location and evacuate the dogs, get them spayed and neutered, give them rabies shots and release them in an area that is away from residents.

3. Injured dogs and puppies will be taken to shelters and treated there.

4. Once the initial evacuation process is completed, we will focus on vaccinating the dogs. Once the vaccinations are done, we will start the spay and neuter program. Once the spay and neuter program is successfully completed, we will focus our efforts on finding viable homes for the puppies at least, perhaps even for the adult dogs if people step up.

What is achieved?

1. The ‘dog problem’ is being solved and dogs are being removed from areas where they are not welcome.

2. The dogs are being spayed and neutered so they do not reproduce and therefore we are controlling the stray population.

3. The dogs at hand are being taken to safety where they can live free of the fear of being shot dead.

4. Helping the voiceless is our God given right.

5. By giving the freedom to save these dogs and not shooting them, you are playing a huge part in an act of kindness.

If you’d like to help us save these animals please sign and share this petition. There are other methods of getting involved, as well as a help line number you can call in case you’d like us to remove dogs from your area in a humane way.

I’d like to end this post with the simple request to my fellow country men and women, if you cannot adopt, then foster. If you cannot foster, then volunteer. If you cannot volunteer, then donate. If you cannot donate, then help create awareness. If you cannot help create awareness, then offer moral support. If you cannot offer moral support, then let the people who are working to save the voiceless, do what they do. Just don’t add to the problem, don’t support such treatment of animals, don’t find reasons to enforce cruelty.