Pindi to cull strays in month-long drive

Activists fear campaign won’t be limited to rabid dogs

RAWALPINDI:

The Rawalpindi District Health Authority and the municipality have launched a month-long campaign to cull stray dogs on the basis of a reported increase in the number of dog bites in Rawalpindi and its cantonments.

As per the department, the dogs would be fed mince and meat laced with poison. The information did not reveal the number of canines the campaign would target or any approximation of the number of animals in the city.

Officials said that dogs in small packs had targeted people, particularly at the time of sunrise prayers. But such attacks won’t stop during the day and have been reportedly occurred in the evening as well as at night.

The health authority and the Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation (RMC) have formed teams for the culling drive.

The problem is said to be acute in the following areas of the city: Army Colony, Pirwadhai, Bangash Colony, Khayaban-e-Sir Syed, Satellite Town, Sadiqabad, Dhok Khabba and Mohanpura.

In the cantonment zones, Westridge 3, Allahabad, Dhok Syedan Road, Masryal, Mughalabad Ten and Bhatta as well as other areas have reported the problem. The campaign will take place in both Rawalpindi and Chaklala cantonments.

A large number of victims include the elderly, children and women, with hundreds treated for dog bites in the city’s various hospitals during the past month.

Health Services Director Dr Ansar Ishaq said that the poison used would be strychnine that would be injected in meat meant for stray dogs. The teams would monitor the locations where the meat is placed and collect the bodies that will be buried in a pit.

Dr Ishaq added that the campaign would continue for one month. He added that the campaign would target areas that have a higher incidence of dog bite cases.

He added that citizens should refrain from feeding strays as they then identify their territory and attack passers-by.

Imran Gulzar, an executive officer in the cantonments, said that special teams had been sent to areas with a higher number of complaints regarding the presence of strays and their attacks on the citizens.

Health authorities added that treatment against dog bites, including rabies, was available at various hospitals, and medicines had been provided at the Rawalpindi District Headquarters Teaching Hospital, the Benazir Bhutto General Hospital and the Holy Family Hospital.

Meanwhile, animal rights activists say that the campaign might end up targeting animals that are neutered and spayed and do not pose any threat to the population. They said such campaigns should focus on rabid and feral animals that actually pose a threat to the human population.

They also urged authorities to find humane ways to deal with the issue instead of mass culling drives.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 12^th, 2023.