Baghdad kills 58,000 stray dogs in 3-month span

[Ban Hammer 12,835]

BAGHDAD – Teams of veterinarians and police shooters have killed some 58,000 stray dogs in and around the Iraqi capital over the past three months as part of a campaign to curb an increasing number of strays blamed for attacks on residents.

The Baghdad provincial government said in a statement released Sunday that 20 teams have been moving around Baghdad and the outer-lying districts daily looking for and putting down the dogs. The operation, which was first announced in late 2008, only truly took off this April after funds were allocated for the project.

The surge in strays — estimated by provincial officials to number around 1.25 million — is ironically linked to what officials say is an improvement in some elements of daily life in Baghdad, a city that for seven years has been struggling to return to normalcy after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.

Officials with the provincial veterinary directorate said that with open-air markets and bustling city life returning, the dogs are able to find more food and are having bigger litters.

Figures for the number of attacks by packs of stray dogs were not available Saturday, the last day of the weekend in Iraq.

But officials said resident complaints have increased steadily in tandem with the rise in the stray population. In the capital, dogs have attacked children, in some cases killing them.

Efforts since the campaign was first announced in 2008 met with limited success because of a lack of funding and follow-through. There are not believed to be any dog shelters in Baghdad.

The teams begin their work daily at 6 a.m., and coordinate with relevant security forces in the area — ostensibly to ensure that their presence does not draw retaliatory fire by security forces who may mistake them for insurgents.

Provincial officials said before the teams move into an area, residents are also notified, and warned to not pick up meat they find on the ground because it could be the poisoned food used to lure and kill the dogs.

Under Saddam Hussein's regime, stray dogs were routinely shot. But their numbers grew steadily following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion when a host of more serious security issues sidelined efforts to deal with the dogs.

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[evli1966 88]

OMG not "ole" yellow

[slim 1,514]

F#@K PETA!

[lostinblue 1,989]

F#@K PETA!

Makes sense Rabies could be widespread in a war zone.

[cranehand 0]

sounds like a waste of decent protien. Although you did not say what they were doing with the carcass's.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM Dog, the other other other white meat

Excuse me, Have you seen my dog Fluffy? Yes! you mean the one with the juicy hind leg?

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

When I was in Hughada last summer there were packs of stray wild dogs and sometimes coming across them was a little scary.

Hubby told me stories about this same thing happening in Egypt 15 years ago. The teams would go around shooting the dogs. They had a rule only one bullet per dog so as not to waste ammo, so if the bullet didn't kill the dog the team had to let it bleed to death and suffer and people would see this passing by. Hubby told me one tough man came to his high school, which he was living in the dorms at the time, and the tough man brought a gun and shot the stray dogs around the area and hubby had to hear the shootings day and night since he was living there.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Yummy! Monkey on a stick! Dog makes fine pulutan!

Edited July 11, 2010 by ##########

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

Dog, the new terrorist!

(My cat would agree)

[rika60607 215]

Seeing that islam apparently considers dogs dirty (adults are not allowed to touch them), all the dogs in Baghdad must be strays.

Dog, the new terrorist!

(My cat would agree)

[slim 1,514]

Seeing that islam apparently considers dogs dirty (adults are not allowed to touch them), all the dogs in Baghdad must be strays.

Baghdad is actually a pretty progressive city. What you see on TV about "the rules of Islam" has almost ZERO application in Baghdad.

[ValerieA 350]

I think this was a conspiracy by the cats.

[Darnell 8,478]

Yummy! Monkey on a stick! Dog makes fine pulutan!

Ya know - I like dog meat also -

but - refuse to cook 'this', as they start with poison.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Ya know - I like dog meat also -

but - refuse to cook 'this', as they start with poison.

It doesn't sound like the meat was tainted:

Teams of veterinarians and police shooters have killed some 58,000 stray dogs

[Darnell 8,478]

Provincial officials said before the teams move into an area, residents are also notified, and warned to not pick up meat they find on the ground because it could be the poisoned food used to lure and kill the dogs.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Provincial officials said before the teams move into an area, residents are also notified, and warned to not pick up meat they find on the ground because it could be the poisoned food used to lure and kill the dogs.

I missed that part. Bummer! All that good meat going to waste.