AMMAN — A recent
spike in attacks by street dogs across
Jordan has renewed the controversy over how to deal with the problem of strays,
as some are calling on the authorities to eliminate the dogs, while others are
pushing for sterilization and vaccination measures.
اضافة اعلان
Officials and specialists agree that the spread of stray
dogs within residential neighborhoods in Jordanian cities has become a
disturbing phenomenon that puts citizens at risk.
Activists in the field of animal protection are urging the
authorities to deal with the Kingdom’s stray dog problem in a scientific manner,
without violating animal rights by killing them.
Addressing a dangerous problem The general manager of the Al-Kanaani Company for Animal Rights, Manar
Rahahleh, told
Jordan News that the number of
street dogs has been increasing in Jordan because of the dogs’ mating season. In addition, a large number of
dogs entered the Kingdom through the Syrian border after the devastating
earthquakes that recently struck the neighboring country.
The recent earthquakes have not only led to an influx of strays from Syria, but have also frightened the dogs, making them more tense.
The proliferation of
stray dogs poses a danger to citizens,
she said, noting that Al-Kanaani company is working to educate citizens on how
to appropriately deal with the problem.
Poisoning and killing dogs “is not an appropriate solution,
because it contributes to an environmental imbalance”, Rahahleh said. Instead,
“the solution is to catch stray dogs, sterilize them, and vaccinate them”.
The authorities can accomplish this by applying the Animal
Birth Control (ABC) program, which aims to control stray dogs by reducing the
number of births.
Furthermore, butcheries and restaurants can play their part
by disposing of food waste far from residential areas, Rahahleh said.
Thousands of puppiesAnimal rights activist Hazem Yaqoub echoed Rahahleh’s
statements, noting that, during mating period, dogs become more ferocious.
Furthermore, the recent earthquakes have not only led to an influx of strays
from Syria, but have also
frightened the dogs, making them more tense.
“Killing animals will not solve the problem,” Yaqoub explained, as one female dog and her babies can have over 67,000 puppies in a 10-year timeframe.
According to the Ministry of Health, he said, injuries from
stray dog attacks this year have reached nearly 1,000.
“Killing animals will not solve the problem,” Yaqoub explained, as one female
dog and her babies can have over 67,000 puppies in a 10-year timeframe.
Instead, local municipalities must implement a scientific solution
for dealing with
stray dogs — sterilization and vaccination — in line with the
ABC program, a globally recognized method.
Yacuob called on municipalities to carry out intensive
patrols at dawn to
catch the dogs.
The
dogs have been frequenting residential areas in search of
food, he said, so trash bins should also be covered and food should be disposed
of in remote areas.
A municipality issueMP Abdel Salam Al-Thiyabat offered a different solution to
the problem. He told
Jordan News that local municipalities should
catch dogs,cage them, and export them abroad.
As for sterilizing and vaccinating, “this is impractical,
and I do not think that the government should do it because of the difficult
economic situation.”
“We are all for animal rights, but not at the expense of
citizens,” he said. “People and children in a state of panic. If the Jordanian
government allowed the
dogs to be killed, I would suggest it, because the dogs
have become a source of anxiety and fear.”
However, Jordan’s Penal Code
criminalizes killing an animal that is not owned, imposing imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years
for the crime. A fine not exceeding JD20 or one month in prison is levied on
anyone who “hits or wounds an animal in a way that prevents it from working or
causes serious harm to it”.
A fine not exceeding JD20 or one month in prison is levied on anyone who “hits or wounds an animal in a way that prevents it from working or causes serious harm to it”.
Likewise, Article 8 of Jordan’s
Animal Welfare Instructions No. 18 of 2022 stipulates that killing, wounding, or striking any animal with
the intent of harm is an explicit violation of the standards of animal welfare.
This is in accordance with the guidelines contained in the constitution of the
World Organization for Animal Health.
In Jordan, the control of stray dogs falls under the
jurisdiction of local administrations and the
Greater Amman Municipality (GAM), according to the Ministry of
Agriculture.
“We now in the House of Representatives are in a state of
anticipation to see what the municipalities will do,” said Thiyabat.
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