March 8, 2008

SRINGAGAR, INDIA – A program to poison 100,000 feral dogs was cancelled on Friday after protests from animals rights groups.

With the world’s highest rabies fatality rate, India’s government officials had initiated, on Thursday, its plan to control the issue by poisoning stray dogs..

Now local officials, from the Indian Kashmir region, will work on a plan to sterilize strays along with animal welfare groups and a team from the federal environment ministry, said Syed Haq Nawaz, commissioner of the Srinager Muncipal Corp.

“We’re not going ahead with this poisoning,” Nawaz said. “Not at all.”

The anti-rabies program had aimed to kill some 100,000 feral dogs in the region’s main city of Srinagar.

About 500 dogs had already been killed by Friday, according to Dr. Riyaz Ahmed, the city’s health officer who first had announced that the animals were going to be poisoned with strychnine on Thursday.

While Nawaz gave no reason as to why the plan was stopped, animal activists had pledged to go to court, calling it inhumane and a violation of the prevention of cruelty act.

Friday’s news was welcomed by activists.

“It’s a welcome step that they have given up the idea of poisoning dogs,” said Javaid Iqbal Shah, the deputy head of Srinagar Society to Prevent Cruelty to Animals. “They should create awareness that not every dog is rabid.”

The World Health Organization estimates that India accounts for more than 60 percent of the approximate 35,000 annual global rabies deaths, and stray dogs are often blamed.

But it’s a problem that has been exacerbated by India’s rapidly growing cities and slums, leaving officials exasperated to find a solution.

“These dogs have become a big nuisance and they are threatening humans,” said Ahmed on Thursday after the announcement was made about the city’s plan to poison the dogs.

Some regions have fallen victim to feral packs that have attacked people. But, other strays are considered “community pets,” which means the animals are semi-tame and are cared for by the local residents.

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