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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A policeman in Erbil proudly admitted to killing around 3,000 stray dogs, 40 of whom died in one night last week.
An animal rights organization has vowed to file a lawsuit against those killing street dogs.
"Upon requests from local residents, Erbil municipality held a campaign to exterminate stray dogs harassing people. And on the night of October 15 in Zaitun City, Hana City Apartments and Mnara neighborhood, I alone killed 40 dogs," Mohammed Ali, a policeman in Erbil told Rudaw on Monday. "The dogs were later taken to a landfill in Kani Qirzhala, a neighborhood in Western Erbil, and were buried after being burned," he added.
Stray dogs are often considered a menace and a public health issue in the Kurdistan Region. Ali added that he has been killing stray dogs for 20 years now and said he has "killed 3,000 dogs" so far.
"I am killing them and [Erbil] municipality takes their pictures and dumps them," he said, vowing to kill "100 every night if they pay me back the price of bullets."
He says he has not been paid by the municipality nor local residents for any dog he kills.
"Except my salary, I do not receive any payment. But sometimes I receive tips," he said, adding in the October 15's campaign he was paid 100,000 dinars.
The killing of dogs has angered animal rights organizations in Erbil.
"We will stage a demonstration against the killing of dogs which happened a few nights ago and submit a petition to the parliament," Bakhtiyar Khalid, head of the Dogs Rights Advocate Organization, told Rudaw on Monday. "We will lodge complaints against all those involved in the dog killing campaign."
The killing of stray dogs comes at a time that many locals in the Kurdistan Region have grown an interest in raising dogs as pets.
Paws of Kurdistan International, an Erbil-based NGO provides food, shelter and veterinary services to stray dogs. The work of its volunteers is not just aimed at rescuing abused and neglected animals, but also at keeping the public safe from potentially aggressive or diseased dogs.
“I think dogs have had a very bad press here in Kurdistan – in the Middle East in general. But they are not nasty,” Carrie Davis, who volunteers for the charity, told Rudaw. She shares her home with rescued strays in Erbil. “I’ve never met such sweet and lovely dogs as the dogs here in Kurdistan – the wild dogs especially. They’re beautiful,” she added.
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