A municipal worker unloads the bodies of stray dogs from a garbage truck after they were culled using poison by the municipality in Karachi, Pakistan, August 4, 2016. PHOTO: REUTERS

KARACHI: In the wee hours of Thursday, District Municipal Corporation (DMC), South, poisoned a significant number of stray dogs in Karachi following reports of their rising population in the district.



According to DMC South administrator Muhammad Naeem, more than 800 stray dogs were poisoned to death. He said that he was receiving complaints from the residents regarding the rising number of dogs in the area.



The operation was conducted in the entire District South. He explained that they chose midnight on Thursday, as meat markets are closed on Wednesdays and dogs don't get anything to eat. The team left pieces of poisoned meat in different streets. "We made sure that no children were nearby," he said. The corpses of the dogs were later shifted to landfill sites.



Officials estimated the citywide operation that started this

week had culled thousands of strays but did not have a full

accounting for all six city districts. The periodic culling of dogs using poison tablets hidden in chicken meat has drawn criticism from animal rights activists in Pakistan, but another city official, Mohammad Zahid, said it was necessary because packs of strays posed a threat to residents.



Last year, Karachi's Jinnah Hospital treated 6,500 people

bitten by dogs and this year so far it has seen 3,700 cases,

said Dr Seemin Jamali, head of the emergency room.







Published in The Express Tribune , August 5th, 2016.