Stray Dogs

House of Representatives member Ghareb Hassan said in a recent statement that anyone who hunts and kills stray dogs in Al-Tur city, South Sinai will be given a 20 pound reward. 

This came as part of a discussion during the last executive board session held last Wednesday in South Sinai under the supervision of Governor Khaled Fouda. 

Hassan complained that he was unable to sleep because of stray dogs, stressing on the urgency of this issue and the need for an immediate fix in South Sinai in particular.

General Director of veterinary medicine Mohamed Farouk recommended a number of solutions for this problem including exporting the dogs to the Philippines. He also stressed that the issue of stray dogs is causing a state of panic among citizens, especially children. Which makes it a priority to fix.

In a recent phone interview with TV host, Amr Abdel Hamid on his talk show “Raey Aam”, Hassan clarified that when he said he would give a 20-pound-reward to anyone who hunts down a stray dog, he was only joking. And that “joke” was an expression of his frustration with government officials for not fixing this very urgent and pressing issue.

He also stated that the stray dogs in South Sinai outnumber the citizens and that since this city is considered a tourist destination, it must be free of stray dogs.

He also said that 9 months ago, he had gotten a promise from the Ministry of Agriculture that stray dogs will be gone in 3 months, but nothing is yet to be changed.

And while what Mr.Hassan said might be a joke, the veterinary medicine directory in Qena did more than joke. They killed 489 dogs as part of their campaign to get rid of stray dogs.

Which means that there is more to come… 

This was confirmed when Ayman Abd Allah, the director of veterinary medicine in Qena said that this is, in fact, a part of the directory’s plan to get rid of stray dogs in Qena, urging the citizens to report any stray dogs they see to the nearest veterinary administration.

Agriculture Minister Dr. Ezz Eddin Abusteit also stated in the last session of the Parliament that Egypt is home to about 16 million stray dogs, 5-7 million of which are males and the castration procedure costs about 500 pounds per dog.

He then added that this presents a “financial burden” on the ministry, especially while different sectors are in dire need of financial aids. He also confirmed that only 567 dogs were exported out of Egypt in 2018.

Justifying the lack of results or efficiency on the ministry’s part, Abusteit explained that it’s due to the lack of man force and hiring in the ministry which dates back to the mid-80s.

It seems that as if right now, there is no one method to fix this problem upon which everyone agrees.

It is, however, getting more urgent by the day to set a fixed solution to this growing problem before any more harm is done.

 

Sources: Shrouk News – Masrawy – Al-Masry Al-Youm – Al-Masry Al-Youm