KARACHI: Sharing serious concern over the alarming increase in stray dog attacks across the province, which have resulted in injuries and loss of lives, speakers at a roundtable conference held on Monday called upon the government to carry out its constitutional duty of protecting human lives by taking immediate steps to control the dog population.
They underscored the need for removing stray dogs from the streets, while suggesting the establishment of shelters where they could be urgently shifted, vaccinated and neutered/spayed, as well as engaging communities and creating public awareness on the subject.
The conference, focusing on safe communities, healthy animals and rabies-free Pakistan, was jointly organised by the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) and the Indus Hospital and Health Network at the FPCCI head office.
“There shouldn’t be any (stray) dog on the street. If we allow them (to live) on the streets, they will increase in numbers,” said former local government secretary Roshan Ali Sheikh, adding that effective dog control measures included proper management of solid waste on which the animals survived.
He recalled that a project on dog population control was conceived and approved by the government during his tenure more than four years ago. But it couldn’t be implemented following his transfer from the post.
“The project had a scientific approach with a mechanism for training teams in catching and vaccinating dogs, establishing animal shelters and ensuring provision of vaccines at health facilities,” he recounted, sharing that poisoning dogs as a measure for controlling their population was banned during his time.
The project, he pointed out, had to start from Karachi and then be implemented across the province. Coming to the present pressing challenge, he said: “Unless you involve the local government, you won’t be able to achieve desired results because the scale (of the challenge) is too high and the population of dogs is huge.”
Dr Nazeer Hussain Kalhoro, director general of Sindh Institute of Animal Health Karachi (SIAHK), also having the additional charge of DG Livestock Sindh, said that last year the department had moved a summary for the establishment of animal shelters that still awaits approval.
“The shelters were meant for all animals in need. A small funding is needed to build shelter/s as government land is already available,” he said.
He also informed the audience about the work being carried out by SIAHK in collaboration with Dow University of Health Sciences for the local production of rabies vaccines and efforts in place for controlling the dog population in DHA.
Dr Mirza Ali Azhar of Pakistan Medical Association and citizens’ representative Naeem Sadiq spoke of the human sufferings and the mental trauma victims of dog bites go through, while calling for the immediate removal of dogs from the streets and shifting them to “sanctuaries” where they could be looked after, neutered and spayed.
However, disagreeing with the suggestion, senior vet Dr Isma Gheewala said the solution required a scientific approach. She shared how the dog population was successfully controlled and minimised under a project run by the Indus Hospital a few years back.
During the discussion, concern was also raised on the forum on the “horrifying situation” prevailing in the interior parts of Sindh where, they said, health facilities didn’t have medicines for rabies treatment.
Given the gravity and scale of the situation, Dr Saifullah Khan, representing the Defence Science and Technology Organisation, favoured culling as an immediate solution to control the rising dog population. In this respect, he cited examples of foreign countries where the method was used to control disease outbreaks, such as mad cow disease.
Dr Naseem Salahuddin and Aftab Gohar of the Indus Hospital also spoke.
Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2026.
