Erbil Province launches a campaign to control stray dog population

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Erbil Province on Saturday launched its first campaign dedicated to controlling the rampant increase in the number of stray dogs.

Previously, Erbil Governor Omed Khoshnaw on July 3 announced at a press conference that the work of building a shelter outside Erbil to combat the growing population of stray dogs has been completed and the collection of stray dogs will start on July 8.

Khoshnaw also said that collecting stray dogs will begin in all districts of Erbil Province.

“The dogs will be treated and vaccinated so they don't mix with other untreated dogs,” he added.

Moreover, the Erbil Governor appointed Hemin Muhammed as the shelter director.

The shelter costs 450 million dinars ($346 million), and it is located on 20 acres of land—15 kilometers from Erbil's center.

Unofficial figures show there are more than 21,000 stray dogs in Erbil Province. More than 300 cases of attacks by stray dogs have been registered in the past four months in the province.

The largest number of stray dogs in Erbil Province are in the Daratu sub-district.

Rawand Qadir, the head of the Daratu sub-district, announced on Saturday in a press conference the commencement of a campaign to collect stray dogs.

“We intend to announce the campaign along with animal rights groups, and the campaign will continue until we completely reduce the number of stray dogs,” Qadir stated.