Erbil begins rounding up stray dogs

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Erbil governorate on Saturday started collecting stray dogs from the streets of the city and placing them in a shelter after an alarming rise in the number of incidents of dogs biting people.

Collecting the strays started in Zheen neighborhood of Daratoo, on Erbil’s southern edge. “We started from Zheen neighborhood because there are a lot of dogs there,” said Rawand Qadir, mayor of Daratoo. “The campaign will continue until all the dogs are collected.” 

Alongside municipality workers, civilians volunteered to round up the dogs.

“I am only with them as a volunteer, because I have suffered myself,” Rebwar Jamal, told Rudaw’s Ranja Jamal. “Dogs have eaten my birds that are worth 2 million dinars (around $1,300).” 

Four different methods are being used to capture the animals - offering them food, setting up traps, anaesthetizing them, or by offering assistance to people who have adopted dogs.

The captured dogs will be taken to a new shelter that was built by the Erbil governorate on 20 dunams of land (one dunam is 2500 square metres) and can accommodate up to 12,500 dogs. 

In April, Erbil Mayor Nabaz Abdulhamid said they allocated over 450 million dinars for the construction of the shelter. That decision was made after doctors alerted authorities about an alarming increase in dog bites. Nine people were admitted to hospital on one single day.

Stray dogs are often considered a menace and public health risk. There are over 300,000 stray dogs in the Kurdistan Region, according to the Sulaimani-based Kurdistan Green Party, which also reported at least 124 dog-related injuries in Erbil during March. Over the years, various cities have tried different tactics to address the problem, but their efforts have been criticized by animal rights organizations.

In the Shingal area, officials and veterinarians poisoned hundreds of dogs in 2021. Later that same year, Kirkuk tackled the problem with guns - shooting dogs dead. Several shelters exist, but last year dozens died when a virus swept through a Sulaimani center.

Animal rights advocates recommend dogs be captured, neutered, and released as the most humane way of controlling the population and worry that fights could break out if a large number of dogs are confined in a shelter.