436,408 dog bite cases in 22 months, but govt shows little interest in resolving the issue
A joint conference on stray dogs organized by Public Aid Committee of Jamaat-e-Islami Lahore and animal rights NGOs.JI Lahore Amir, Ziauddin Ansari advocate chaired the meeting. PHOTO: ASIF MEHMOOD
LAHORE:
Animal rights organisations and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Lahore on Thursday announced a joint campaign against both the inhumane killing of stray dogs and the rising incidents of bite attacks injuring citizens across Punjab.
They agreed on key measures, including adopting scientific population control methods, developing a coordinated strategy and urging district authorities to abandon conventional practices. The understanding was reached during a meeting held in Lahore between representatives of JI and various animal welfare organisations.
Participants included JI Lahore Emir Ziauddin Ansari, Public Aid Committee President Qaiser Sharif, Advocate Altamash Saeed and Advocate Mian Ahmad Farooq of Environmental and Animal Rights Consultants Pakistan, Dr Aamna Ubaid Khawaja of LCWU Animal Welfare and Protection Society, and Dr Bilal from Punjab Police Animal Rescue Centre.
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Fariha from Stray Hearts Rescue, representatives of Raffles Animal Welfare Registry, Barrister Masooma Bukhari of Farakhanda and Shehrat Bukhari Foundation, Aafia Khan of Give Us Life Animal Welfare, Musa Shoaib of TODS Welfare Society, and Syed Mohsin of Comprehensive Disaster Response Services (Benji Project), among others, also attended.
Sharif said a ten-year-old boy was bitten by stray dogs even in the Askari 10 area in Lahore.
“It was not a first or last incident as 436,408 dog bite incidents were reported in only 22 months, but the government is not interested in resolving the issue; the unreported numbers may be much higher,” Sharif said.
Addressing the meeting, Ansari said that culling stray dogs was not a sustainable solution, adding that scientific approaches such as catch-neuter-vaccinate-release could prove more effective.
The participants endorsed JI’s eight-point agenda and assured cooperation in fieldwork and technical support.
The meeting also urged district administrations to move away from traditional methods and implement the proposed recommendations to ensure a balance between public safety and animal welfare.
