Indian City Aims to Poison 100,000 Stray Dogs

Hilal Ahmed, Associated Press National Geographic News 6 Mar 08;

Authorities in Indian Kashmir have begun poisoning stray dogs in an anti-rabies drive that aims to kill some hundred thousand dogs in the region's main city, Srinagar, officials said Thursday.

Animal rights activists vowed to go to court to stop the slaughter, saying it is an illegal 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 already under way to poison strays with strychnine. (See a map of India.)

"These dogs have become a big nuisance and they are threatening humans," said Riyaz Ahmad, the Srinagar city health officer who is organizing the killing.

It was not clear Thursday how many dogs have already been killed.

Crying Children, Dying Dogs

Animal activists aimed to stop the poisoning drive, said Javaid Iqbal Shah, the deputy head of the Srinagar Society to Prevent Cruelty to Animals.

Shah said using strychnine was particularly cruel, causing terrible suffering to the dogs, crippling their nervous systems and choking them.

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

Shah said he had proposed the city sterilize strays instead but acknowledged that his organization had only managed to neuter 400 dogs in the last two years.

Feral Packs and Community Pets

India accounts for more than 60 percent of the world's estimated 35,000 annual 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 that are cared for and fed by local residents.

Other cities have struggled unsuccessfully to curb the stray-dog problem, with a variety of solutions.

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