Islamabad: Whenever Jamshed Ahmed, an Islamabad-based rights activist, comes across the news of someone being mauled by a dog, an overwhelming sense of anxiety grips him.
“I can’t help but think about the fate of the victim and countless free-roaming canines living on the fringes of our society.”
Jamshed’s fears seem deeply rooted in Pakistan’s civic authorities’ response to dog bite incidents—wanton shooting and poisoning sprees hot on the heels of rising attacks.
With increasing cases of dog-mediated rabies and dog bite incidents, Pakistan grapples with the challenge of handling growing public health concerns and managing dog populations.
Rabies, commonly referred to as the endemic disease of the impoverished in Pakistan, remains a significant public health concern.
According to the World Health Organisation, over 55,000 people are killed by rabies annually with over 31,000 of those deaths occurring in Asia alone, mostly in children.
A study published in March 2024 and available on the Wiley Online Library (WLO) – a database of journals and ebooks – revealed that in Karachi – Pakistan’s commercial hub – the yearly occurrence of rabies ranges between 7 and 9.8 cases per million individuals.
“However, the actual burden is likely underestimated due to underreporting,” the researchers claimed.
Actions such as mass killings violate Pakistan’s Animal Cruelty Act of 1890, which offers legal protection against the mistreatment of animals. According to the International Organisation for Animal Protection (OIPA), more than 50,000 dogs die every year on the streets of Pakistan and it is the government itself to order the mass killing and poisoning of the animals in almost every city of the country. “They are shot or poisoned and then their dead bodies are collected by municipal workers and loaded onto trucks for disposal,” OIPA said.
Karachi and Lahore, Pakistan’s largest cities respectively, have the highest rate of dog killings each year with over 20,000 dogs killed in these two cities alone, it stated.
The organisation claimed that for smaller cities, the average rate per year is between 3,000 and 6,000 dogs.
Unsurprisingly, Jamshed’s concerns also reflect animal cruelty’s psychological impact on humans, especially children and pet lovers.
“It’s more of a collective punishment for the entire population, a death sentence, not just for the dog involved, but the entire pack roaming the streets in search of food, shelter and community,” he laments.
Callous Apathy
The issue simmers more acutely in the geographical and political peripheries of the country where administrative affairs present a grimmer outlook.
Sirbaz Ali Khan is a wildlife welfare activist based in Gilgit-Baltistan’s capital, Gilgit City. He rescues injured dogs following mass shooting campaigns.
In September last year, civic authorities in Gilgit-Baltistan culled as many as 1,000 stray dogs in a single drive following a purported uptick in rabies-related deaths.
Special Assistant to Gilgit Chief Minister on Information Iman Shah confirmed to the media at the time that they “launched the operation and killed over 1,000.”
He said the stray dog population in Gilgit is over 15,000.
Condemning the killing campaigns, Sirbaz terms the officials’ approach towards managing canine populations as callous.
“There is a sense of apathy among national and local governments towards the challenge which pushes them towards irrational conclusions such as poisoning and shooting en masse, resulting in the extermination of packs and packs of helpless creatures.”
Some cases happen as retaliation to interruption during mating,” Ali contends.
Amid the crisis, humane solutions seem to have not been adequately implemented to break the cycle of rabies transmission and animal cruelty throughout the years.
According to the Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC)—an international non-governmental organisation founded in 2007 in Kansas, the United States—dog-mediated rabies, which is responsible for 99 per cent of human cases, can be eliminated through vaccination, education and responsible pet ownership.
However, the alliance says that while rabies can be eliminated, it cannot be eradicated because it exists in wildlife reservoirs, unlike diseases like smallpox.
Sometimes, the best solutions are the simplest.
“Vaccinating 70 per cent of dogs isn’t just cost-effective—it can stop rabies at its source and save lives,” the non-profit organisation says.
Impact of Mass Killing
Poisonings and shootings not only disturb the ecosystem but also contribute to environmental pollution and raise concerns about public health safety, says Dr Quratul Ain, a veterinarian who works at the Comprehensive Disaster Response Services (CDRDS)’s Benji project in Islamabad.
A brainchild of American-Pakistani philanthropist and CDRS founder Todd Shea, the Benji project is an animal welfare initiative in Pakistan focused on rescuing, rehabilitating, and providing shelter to abused, orphaned, and injured stray animals across the country.
Dr Ain elaborates that mass shootings of stray dogs can disrupt the local ecosystem in several ways.
“Removing a top predator (stray dogs) can lead to an increase in prey populations (e.g. rodents, rabbits), potentially causing over-grazing and degradation of vegetation.”
She suggests stray dogs often compete with other scavengers, such as vultures and hyenas, for food resources. Removing dogs can lead to changes in scavenger populations and behaviour.
“The canine species can contribute to seed dispersal and nutrient cycling through their scavenging activities. Removing them can alter these ecosystem processes too,” she warns.
Poring over the effectiveness of culling, she refutes the notion that killing can reduce disease risk.
“No, killing stray dogs is not an effective long-term strategy for reducing the risk of diseases like rabies,” she says, adding, “stray dogs are often a symptom of a larger problem rather than the root cause. Removed dogs can be quickly replaced by new dogs, potentially maintaining or even increasing disease transmission risk.
Humane alternatives
Vaccination and sterilisation are more effective strategies and can reduce disease transmission risk and manage stray dog populations in a more sustainable and humane manner.
“Implementing large-scale vaccination programmes to immunise stray dogs against diseases like rabies and conduct sterilisation programmes to reduce stray dog populations and prevent the spread of disease can prove effective.”
She also suggests implementing animal birth control programmes, which combine sterilisation, vaccination, and ear tagging to manage stray dog populations are among holistic approaches.
Role of Governments and NGOs
Government response to the pressing problem has drawn flak from the public and international organisations for a long but community intervention also paints a grim picture.
Speaking to WE News, CDRS chief Todd Shea said educating local communities about the importance of animal welfare, disease prevention, and responsible pet ownership is key to building a just society for all.
“Killing stray dogs in public spaces can negatively impact community behaviour and attitudes and desensitise community members to animal welfare concerns,” the quinquagenarian emphasises.
Speaking about Benji project’s Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, and Release (TNVR) method, Todd said vaccination and sterilisation programmes are highly effective in managing stray dog populations and reducing disease transmission risk and can lower stray dog population growth rates, decreasing the number of dogs that needs to be managed.
However, he thinks that NGO interventions cannot address the issue altogether given resource constraints.
“A holistic approach comprising government measures, charity support and informed community intervention can effectively tackle the challenge.”
