Civil society takes to the streets for street dogs

KMC vows not to use poison to contain population

KARACHI: Civil society termed the culling of dogs as an 'act of terrorism' and demanded the municipal authorities to find a humane alternative to containing the canine population instead of ruthlessly killing them.

This demand was put forward by activists in a protest staged outside the Karachi Press Club on Saturday where animal lovers came out to express their outrage on the culling of dogs by municipal authorities.
Holding placards, which read 'Kill corruption not dogs', 'Stop the killing' and 'Spay and neuter', the protesters shouted slogans such as 'Zalimo jawaab do, khoon ka hisaab do, Nahin chalay gi, nahin chalay gi, dehshat-gardi nahin chalay gi [Tyrants, give us answers for the blood spilled. Such terrorism will not be tolerated]'.

A child, Yasir Ameen, holding a dog in his arms, told The Express Tribune that every animal, whether it is a pet or stray dog, has the right to live. Being a pet lover, Ameen said it made him sad to see dogs in the city being poisoned and killed with such brutality.



"Feeding these voiceless animals poison is brutality and similar to an act of terrorism," television show host and actor Muzna Ebrahim told The Express Tribune.

In India, dogs are neutered and spayed, which easily keeps the population of stray dogs controlled, she explained.

Ebrahim recently started a campaign against the culling of stray dogs after municipal authorities allegedly poisoned three of the four stray dogs she was taking care of.



She uploaded a video of the dying dogs taking their last breaths that went viral on social media and people from the entertainment industry and politicians also supported her cause to save the animals. Later, Ebrahim started her campaign, 'Be the voice of voiceless', and the protest was also a series of this campaign.

Meanwhile, the senior director of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation's (KMC) municipal services, Masood Alam, also marked his presence at the protest and assured that KMC will stop poisoning stray dogs and find alternative ways to curb their population.

KMC has forbidden the use of poison to cull strays and instead will contact organisations working for the welfare of the animals, said Alam.



Ebrahim added that a meeting will be held where the welfare organisations and KMC will work on a solution.
Civil society, municipality to work together
Muzna Ebrahim shared a plan on how rescue groups and volunteers will work with Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC) and Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) to identify 'problematic dog areas' and control population of stray dogs:

1. The first step will be to start feeding stray dogs across the city to make them more human-friendly and easier to catch. The same manpower and vans being used to shoot or poison the dogs can then join us in evacuating dogs from problem areas.

2. The resources being used by CBC and KMC to exterminate dogs can be reallocated to help us humanely remove them.



3. We would work with various vets, animal rescuers and volunteers who are willing to donate their time and efforts to the cause. Several renowned vets have offered to spay and neuter dogs for free or very nominal fees. Vet Asad Ali has pledged to spay and neuter 50 dogs for free while vet Isma Gheewala has pledged to neuter and spay each dog for Rs2,500.

4. Support for makeshift shelter spaces will be required where the dogs can then be relocated temporarily to start the spaying and neutering process.

5. Upon healing from surgery, we would need to vaccinate the dogs against rabies and then put a collar and release them in areas farther off from the city where they are not a 'nuisance'.