KARACHI:
Across the country, most cities are faced with the problem of stray dogs. There are nearly 3 million stray dogs in Pakistan with almost 50,000 culled every year. Each year, more than 80,000 victims of dog bites are reported and up to 5,000 people die of rabies. The authorities’ strategy of culling and mass poisoning is simply not working because most pet owners are either unaware or avoid neutering/spaying their pets. Instead of rescuing or fostering stray animals, people prefer buying and breeding more animals.
Also, it is an unsustainable approach because stray dogs and cats are an integral part of the ecosystem, particularly for their scavenging role in removing leftover food like carcasses and waste from the city and agricultural sector. They help reduce the rodent population and keep those localities secure where people feed them. Although it is good to see locals feeding stray animals, it leads to unhygienic conditions because people leave the food on the streets/roads, which often rots there.
The inhumane practice of culling and poisoning should be replaced with an ethical TNVR (trap-neuter/spay-vaccination-release) programme. Also, the authorities should work with local animal rescue organisations to raise awareness and inform people about the management of stray animals and pets. They should also work on controlling the overpopulation of stray dogs and cats and enforce protection laws for animals.
Muqaddas Hanif
Peshawar
Published in The Express Tribune, April 26th, 2022.
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