Animal rights groups accuse Punjab authorities of resuming stray dog killings

Animal rights organisations on Monday accused local authorities of violating court orders and Punjab’s approved TNVR policy by allegedly resuming the killing of stray dogs in Lahore and other parts of the province.

Representatives of Give Us Life Animal Welfare Society and the National Alliance of Animal Rights Activists and Advocates Pakistan made the allegations during a press conference at the Lahore Press Club. They claimed that activists raising concerns over the issue were also being harassed.

The groups said the Lahore High Court had approved the TNVR (Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate and Release) policy in 2021 to control the stray dog population through sterilisation and vaccination instead of killing the animals.

Animal rights activist and co-founder of the organisation, Aafia Khan, said the World Health Organisation also recommended the TNVR model for countries like Pakistan, where urban and rural areas exist side by side. However, she alleged that local authorities had continued dog-killing operations in Lahore over the past few years despite court directions.

She claimed that the Metropolitan Corporation Lahore staff captured stray dogs and allegedly kept them for a few days before taking them to areas near Saggian for killing. According to her, such actions violated court orders and posed risks to both the environment and animal welfare.

Advocate Altamash Saeed said the TNVR policy was developed under a Lahore High Court case with the involvement of the local government, livestock and health departments. He alleged that relevant institutions were not implementing the policy and were instead continuing to kill stray dogs.

Read More: Controversy grows over stray dog culling in Lahore

Saeed said animal rights, environmental protection and civic responsibility should be included in educational curricula to promote humane behaviour in society.

Jamaat-e-Islami Public Aid Committee Lahore President Qaiser Sharif said killing stray dogs was not a permanent solution to the issue. He said government measures for animal protection were insufficient and demanded large-scale implementation of the TNVR programme along with rescue shelters and a helpline.

Sharif said his organisation had been campaigning on the issue for the past 10 months and had prepared eight recommendations to address stray dog attacks and population control through sterilisation.

Participant Haider Shah claimed that he accompanied Aafia to the Metropolitan Corporation Lahore office to seek information about captured dogs. He alleged that officials initially assured them the dogs would be vaccinated and released, but later changed their stance, leading to an argument after which police were called.

The organisations urged Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to stop the alleged dog-killing campaign, ensure implementation of the TNVR policy and investigate incidents of harassment and FIRs registered against animal rights activists.