A sign that reads "committing a crime against me is committing a crime against yourself," put on a dog during the protest against the shelter on February 12, 2022 in Sulaimani. Photo: Rudaw
SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region - Dozens of dogs were found dead in a shelter that was set up to take in stray dogs from the streets in Sulaimani city. Animal health organizations claim that they died of a viral infection.
Heart-wrenching footage of at least 80 dead dogs circulated on social media on Friday night. The shelter that was built by Sulaimani municipality teams in January had turned into a cemetery.
The cause of their deaths has been attributed to infections called canine and distemper parvoviruses, which are easily transmitted between dogs.
“The main reason is sickness. The dogs fell ill in large numbers and died. But the indirect reason is related to the management of the shelter,” vice-president of Protecting Animals in Kurdistan Organization (PAKO) Jutyar Zhazhlaiy told Rudaw’s Horvan Rafaat on Saturday.
Built as a refuge for dogs, the five dunam of land had been divided into four fenced parts to house female and male dogs separately, as well as puppies and Hawshari dogs.
Stray dogs are often considered a danger and a public health issue in the Kurdistan Region. They are often shooed away, beaten, hit with sticks, and killed by cars.
A Kurdish MP said the shelter did not meet the stray dogs' needs.
“The place is still unsuitable because it has been open for around a month now … they have put the animals in jail. The animals were on the street and the people were kind to them, people gave them meat. They could barely get anything here,” Sirwan Baban said.
Locals and activists protested against the shelter, claiming that the shelter was not a proper place to house stray dogs as it lacked services and experienced staff.
Sulaimani’s municipality has halted the process of taking in stray animals and is currently investigating the cause of death of such a large number of dogs at one time.
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