An incomprehensible tragedy struck the Vehari district of Punjab earlier this week when an 8-year-old boy was attacked by a pack of stray dogs and mauled to death. The child was walking home from his madrassa with 2 other children when the dogs attacked. While the other children managed to escape in time, Muhammad Arsalan fell victim to the ferocious animals and unfortunately lost his life before anyone could even arrive at the scene.
As bone-chilling as the incident is, it is regrettably part of a larger problem of stray dog as Pakistan reported over 10,000 dog bite cases in just the first two months of 2025. The residents of Vehari said they made numerous complaints about stray dog attacks to local authorities, but their worst fears eventually materialised well before the authorities could be bothered to act.
Even with over 3 million stray dogs, Pakistan has time and again failed to effectively mitigate the risks attached with stray animals. In the past, the country has either ignored the severity of their numbers, leading to gruesome attacks such as this one, or it has adopted an inhumane culling strategy. A humane and effective method for managing free-roaming dogs that keeps citizens safe is yet to be seen.
A landmark decision made by the Lahore High Court in May this year rendered the killing of stray dogs through shooting, poisoning or other inhumane methods illegal and unconstitutional. It encouraged an Animal Birth Control policy which is effective in vaccinating, sterilising and controlling large populations of stray animals.
Clearly, the implementation of this policy is yet to be seen as the complaints of Vehari's residents fell on deaf ears. It would be shameful if it takes the death of a child for them to take notice - but perhaps now, they finally will.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ