CNN animal alert: Indian Kashmir City begins poisoning 100,000 dogs

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CNN Alerts: animal alert

 

City begins poisoning 100,000 dogs

03/06/08 06:37 AM, EST

Authorities in Indian Kashmir have begun poisoning stray dogs in an

anti-rabies program that aims to kill some 100,000 dogs in the

region's main city, officials said Thursday.

Read the full story at

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/03/06/kashmir.dogs.ap/index.html

 

Dogs and cows hunt for food on a trash heap in Srinagar.

City begins poisoning 100,000 dogs

* Story Highlights

* Authorities in Kashmir begin poisoning stray dogs in

an anti-rabies drive

* Program aims to kill 100,000 dogs in Srinagar

* Animal activists say they will challenge the move in court

SRINAGAR, India (AP) -- Authorities in Indian Kashmir have begun

poisoning stray dogs in an anti-rabies program that aims to kill some

100,000 dogs in the region's main city, officials said Thursday.

 

Animal rights activists vowed to go to court in a bid to stop the

slaughter planned by Srinagar city, saying it is an illegal, extreme

and cruel solution to a problem that could be better addressed with

other methods.

 

With the world's highest rabies fatality rate, India has grappled

with ways to control the millions of stray dogs that live on its

streets.

 

In Srinagar, city officials vowed to press ahead with the plan.

 

" These dogs have become a big nuisance and they are threatening

humans, " said Dr. Riyaz Ahmad, the Srinagar city health officer who

is organizing the killing.

 

" We have placed orders for the poison and then we will launch a

large-scale drive. For the time being we are doing it with stocks we

have, " he told The Associated Press.

 

It was not clear how many dogs have already been killed, but when

asked if they planned to kill all the city's strays -- estimated at

more than 100,000 -- Ahmad said: " That's the target. "

 

Meanwhile, animal activists said they would try to stop the killings.

 

" We are going to file a suit against the municipal corporation if

they go ahead with this, because this poisoning drive will be against

the prevention of cruelty act, " said Javaid Iqbal Shah, the deputy

head of the Srinagar Society to Prevent Cruelty to Animals.

 

Shah said the poison used, strychnine, was particularly cruel,

causing terrible suffering to the dogs.

" It cripples the nervous system and then chokes the animal. It is not

a good sight to see these animals die by the roadside. I have seen

children cry when they pass by these dying dogs, " he said.

 

Shah said he had proposed the city carry out a sterilization program

instead but acknowledged that his organization had only managed to

sterilize 400 dogs in the last two years.

 

India accounts for more than 60 percent of the estimated 35,000

annual global rabies deaths, according to the World Health

Organization, and stray dogs are often blamed.

 

In some areas, dogs form feral packs that have attacked people.

However, other strays are " community pets, " semi-tame animals who are

cared for and fed by local residents.

 

Other cities have struggled unsuccessfully to curb the problem, with

a variety of solutions.

 

India's high-tech hub of Bangalore called off a drive to slaughter

strays last year after killing more than 200 dogs amid allegations

that untrained workers were stoning, strangling and beating the dogs

to death.

 

In New Delhi, one city councilor suggested shipping the country's

strays to Korea, where dog meat is considered a delicacy.

 

Other health officials said the city was exaggerating the danger from the dogs.

 

Dr. Saleem Khan, who runs a state rabies clinic, said there were only

two deaths from the 1,341 dog bites reported in Srinagar last year.

 

Ahmad acknowledged that the drive was launched not due to deaths, but

because of mounting public pressure after several newspaper reports

highlighted the stray problem.

 

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This

material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

 

 

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