Despite the government’s brutal treatment, stray dogs are an ongoing crisis in Egypt

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The crisis of stray dogs has clearly exacerbated in Egypt, as streets and roads are largely filled with accumulated rubbish and the absence of practical solutions, amid the spread of poverty. The spread of stray dogs and animals has prompted the government to take brutal measures including killing them with shotguns, poisoning them with forbidden toxic materials or exporting them to countries that eat cat and dog meat.

The brutal government measures sparked international and human rights criticism and from animal welfare societies, in light of the announcement by each governor that he had killed thousands of stray dogs in addition to importing forbidden toxic substances worth thousands of dollars. The government justifies its brutal way of dealing with stray dogs by its inability to provide vaccines for citizens who are spayed in the streets and those who are bitten by these dogs scattered throughout Egypt.

The government also made clear through its officials its inability to bear the cost of these vaccines, its inability to treat rabies, and its failure to castrate male dogs and sterilise females. About three years ago, the case erupted after a British tourist in Luxor photographed brutally murdered dogs in the city streets. The tourist posted photos of dozens of stray dogs killed with shotguns in Luxor, which sparked widespread international criticism.

Stray dogs

The case was renewed this month after the Egyptian Centre for Economic and Social Rights filed a lawsuit against the government to prevent the use of strychnine poison to kill stray dogs and animals. The centre filed the lawsuit as an agent for the president of Ortim for Animal Life Association, against the prime minister, the minister of agriculture, the minister of health, and the chairman of the board of directors of the General Authority for Veterinary Services. Last June, the Administrative Court in Egypt rejected a lawsuit demanding that the government stop the random killing and extermination of street dogs and cats and stop exporting their meat to countries that allow it to be eaten.

The filed suit indicated that this matter is not done randomly, but in a systematic manner, and simultaneously in all Egyptian governorates. She said that this “helps in the emergence of warm-blooded animals such as snakes, mice and rodents of various kinds, and other types of predators such as wolves and foxes, which harm the ecological balance.”

Egypt imports about 40 kilograms of strychnine sulfate poison to kill dogs annually, and its price is estimated at EGP 16.2 million (about $900,000). Note that one kilogram’s price exceeds EGP 15,000 (about $837), which angered some in Egypt, who consider that to be a waste of public money.

Killing stray dogs with this poison is considered by countries as a crime of merciless murder, for which the internationally approved land law, signed by Egypt, is the same as the member states of the World Association of Animal Health. But Egyptian Law No. 53 of 1966 in force until now does not pay any attention to that, stipulating that dogs must be caught and executed by birdshot or poison if they are not muzzled and restricted with reins.

Strychnine is one of the ten most dangerous toxins globally, as it is characterised by its high toxicity and severe health effect even when exposed to small amounts of it. This toxin blocks the chemical responsible for controlling nerve signals to muscles. The poison causes severe and painful convulsions without affecting consciousness or mental abilities, which leads to stopping the patient’s breathing until they die.

16 million stray dogs

The Ministry of Health revealed 129,000 cases of stray dogs’ infection in the first quarter of 2019, while the number of cases in 2018 was about 482,40. The ministry’s official spokesperson clarified that it costs large sums of money to sterilise dogs as the price of vaccinations only ranges from EGP 160 to 180 million. She stressed the danger of the spread of stray animals and dogs in the streets, as 65 cases of infection in 2018 ended in death. For his part, the former Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Ezz el-Din Abu State, said: Egypt has nearly 16 million stray dogs, stressing that the idea of ​​castrating male dogs and sterilising the females is very expensive and the budget of his ministry will not bear it.

Several animal welfare representatives expressed their refusal to kill stray animals as a solution to confront their spread, calling for the resort to scientific solutions, as happens in developed countries, such as sterilisation and castration. Mona Khalil, Vice-President of the Egyptian Federation of Animal Welfare Societies, criticised, during a parliamentary meeting, the Minister of Agriculture’s speech based on a fatwa permitting the killing of dogs.

Amidst the government proceeding with its brutal measures against stray dogs, claiming that there are no other solutions or that they are very costly and onerous to the state budget, lawsuits and human rights groups continue to deal with the matter. Meanwhile, citizens express their anger at the sight of dog corpses in the streets, as the government does not bind itself to remove the bodies from the roads after the animals were brutally killed by birdshot or poison.