The head of the General Authority for Veterinary Services at the Ministry of Agriculture in Egypt, Hamed al-Aqnas commented on the incident of a woman in a 6th of October City compound poisoning stray dogs, while also warning residents not to feed them.
During a Wednesday interview with Sherif Amer on the “Yahdoth fe Misr” show (Happening in Egypt) on MBC MASR channel on Wednesday evening, Aqnas stated that feeding or poisoning stray dogs is wrong.
Feeding stray dogs is unacceptable as it causes them to depend on humans more instead of hunting, he said.
Aqnas continued, “Dogs are used to running and searching for food, and this helps maintain ecological balance. They hunt and eat weasels or snakes. Anyone who loves dogs and wants to feed them should take them into their garden and care for them.”
He also stressed his rejection of poisoning stray dogs, stressing that the solution lies in vaccination and sterilization.
Aqnas added that euthanasia is only resorted to in cases of rabid dogs or those that transmit diseases to humans.
He also assured that calls made to the 19561 hotline, dedicated to dealing with stray dogs, are indeed being answered and operates from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM.
Aqnas added, “Two employees are responsible for receiving calls on the hotline, but it receives a large volume of calls, so they cannot answer all of them.”
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
