436,408 dog bite cases in 22 months, but the government shows little interest in solving the problem
A joint conference on stray dogs organized by the Public Aid Committee of Jamaat-e-Islami Lahore and animal rights NGOs. JI Lahore Amir, Ziauddin Ansari Advocate presided over the meeting. PHOTO: ASIF MEHMOOD
LAHORE:
Animal rights organizations and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Lahore on Thursday announced a joint campaign against both the inhumane killing of stray dogs and the increasing incidents of bee attacks injuring citizens across Punjab.
They agreed on key measures, including adopting scientific methods of population control, developing a coordinated strategy and calling on district authorities to abandon conventional practices. The understanding was reached during a meeting in Lahore between representatives of JI and various animal welfare organisations.
The participants included JI Lahore Emir Ziauddin Ansari, President Public Aid Committee 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 of Punjab Animal Rescueb.
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Fariha from Stray Hearts Rescue, representatives of Raffles Animal Welfare Registry, Barrister Masooma Bukhari from Farakhanda and Shehrat Bukhari Foundation, Aafia Khan from Give Us Life Animal Welfare, Musa Shoaib from TODS Welfare Society and Syed Mohsin from Comprehensive Disaster Response, among others.
Sharif said that a ten-year-old boy was bitten by stray dogs even in Askari 10 area of Lahore.
“It was not a first or last incident as 436,408 dog bite incidents were reported in just 22 months, but the government is not interested in solving the problem; the unreported numbers could be much higher,” Sharif said.
Addressing the gathering, Ansari said culling stray dogs was not a sustainable solution, adding that scientific approaches such as capture-neuter-vaccination-release could prove more effective.
The participants approved the JI’s eight-point agenda and ensured cooperation in field work and technical support.
The meeting also urged district administrations to move away from traditional methods and implement the suggested recommendations to ensure a balance between public safety and animal welfare.
