CAIRO: The population of stray dogs in Cairo s twin city of Giza will once more be controlled by shooting and poisoning the animals because it is cheaper than sterilization, the municipal veterinary department announced. In an interview Saturday with the flagship state-owned daily Al-Ahram, department head Dr Abdullah Badr said that it was simply too expensive to implement a sterilization program. It is necessary to return to the traditional ways of killing dogs with bullets or poison, he said This method is used around the world particularly in developing countries. The discovery of dog carcasses in upscale neighborhoods and near the famed Pyramids of Giza in May provoked an uproar and petitions to the government from local and international animal welfare organizations to end the traditional methods of controlling strays. Animal rights activist and former sex symbol Brigitte Bardot even addressed the Egyptian government over the matter and subsequently President Hosni Mubarak called for an investigation into using more humane methods for the city s population of strays. According to Badr, however, the cost of sterilizing all the stray dogs would be some LE 50 million ($9 million) a year, while the amount allocated in the national budget was only LE 400,000 ($70,000). He said due to numerous complaints from citizens and reports of dog bitings, a wide-ranging campaign to shoot the animals would begin next week. We can t wait to receive the necessary funding for the sterilization operations, we are faced with an imminent danger to our children, he added, saying that local animal welfare organizations had not lived up to their commitments to provide funding for the process. Nadia Montasser of the local chapter of the People for the Ethical Treatment for Animals was shocked at the decision and said that local organizations would soon take action over the matter. We ve had many promises from the president that this is not going to happen any more, she told The Associated Press. It has affected the tourists significantly, she added, explaining that many tourists contacted their embassies after seeing shot dog carcasses in the streets near the Pyramids. I really don t know what they re thinking, she said about the recent decision. Egypt is one of the only countries that has an overpopulation of stray animals because we are using the old methods of shooting animals instead of spaying and neutering them. Montasser added that local organizations have been gathering international funding to pay for sterilization programs.Associated Press
