Member of the House of Representatives, Tadros Qaldas submitted a briefing request to Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly regarding the spread of stray dogs across Egypt, who carry a high risk in transmission of the deadly rabies disease.
Qaldas said that the estimated 15 million stray dogs pose a great danger to the lives of the citizens. He accused the government of abandoning its role in preserving the environment by not deploying any vehicles to pick the stray dogs off the street .
He added garbage left in the streets contributes to an increase in stray dogs.
Qaldas said that many citizens who are exposed to rabid dog bites can not find the vaccine in many hospitals, forcing them to move from one hospital to another and only growing sicker from the negligence.
Previous initiatives to help curb the population of stray dogs in the country include authorities in the Red Sea governorate in September 2017 handing out a LE100 reward to any citizen who could capture dogs and deliver them to the veterinary authority.
According to Al-Ahram, Red Sea governor Ahmed Abdullah called on the governorate’s youth to round-up stray dogs for a reward.
“If any young person in our governorate manages to capture five stray dogs from the streets, then there will be a financial reward of LE 100” he said.
The governor explained that capturing stray dogs is a necessity for the animal’s well-being, as these dogs will be delivered to the governorate’s veterinary authority for spaying and neutering.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
