A Lebanese animal rights organization has called on the government to deal with stray dogs in a humane manner and follow international guidelines. The country has a history of shooting stray dogs and Animals Lebanon said on Wednesday that a change in perception and legislation is needed to rectify this continuing problem. “We feel the mass killing of dogs – likely by poisoning or shooting – is completely against the recommendation of the OIE, against all science about how to control the number of stray dogs, and will not solve any problems,” Animals Lebanon said in an emailed statement to Bikya Masr. A Lebanese municipality police station went onto the streets in a Beirut neighborhood on Wednesday and shot dozens of stray dogs. After the violence ended, police walked away, leaving the carnage of the murder for all to see. “It is shocking and disturbing to think that our government has done this,” Lena Bashara, a resident living near Beirut's Hegaz street told Bikya Masr via telephone on Thursday morning. Eyewitnesses said they saw mothers attempt to defend their puppies as police came into the area shooting. According to one report, police were targeting the puppies specifically. “One puppy we vaccinated and was very friendly went to hide behind his mom and the porter, but the policeman shouted at the porter and told him he does not move he will shoot him too,” said Khaled Hesham Halawa, an animal welfare advocate in Lebanon. “The puppy was killed in front of his mom.” The animal rights organization said that the problem has been “created by the government and to a very large extent the presence of dogs on the streets is due to inaction by the responsible authorities.” The group has continuously attempted to get the government to join spay and neuter campaigns, vaccinate animals, but still, the country has yet to regulate pet shops and has not passed any legislation monitoring animals in the country “Countries that implement programs to control stray dog populations have significantly reduced the numbers of animals on the street and dog/human problems. Countries that use mass killing, as is being suggested by this decree, continuously go through cycles of killing of animals year after year. “Shot or poisoned animals can suffer or hours or days, and we have been informed by a number of municipalities of the damage mass killing does not only to the animals, but also to the people doing the killing and uninvolved people and livestock that were hurt in the process,” the organization continued. The killing of stray animals is nothing new to the Middle East. Recent reports in Egypt indicate that the government is implementing a poisoning campaign against stray animals in the Red Sea town of Dahab. Activists have spoken out against the actions and have called on the government to end this murderous practice. In Lebanon, AL hopes that working with the ministry of agriculture will enable a new draft law to emerge that protects animals. Animals Lebanon said they “would welcome cooperation with Mayor of Mount Lebanon to implement a program that can provide long term solutions instead of repeated mass killing that result in significant suffering. Lebanon does not need more killing.” BM
