Shelve street decor to tackle stray dog menace in Bahrain, Government urged
Manama : In a bid to tackle the increasing number of stray dogs in residential areas, a municipal council member has suggested the ministry to utilise the fund kept for decorating the streets for National Day celebrations this year.
Muharraq Municipal Council Member Yousif Al Rayyes called upon Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry to look into his proposal and implement it soon to “put an end to the growing problem”.
He told DT News in a recent conversation over the telephone, “As long as these dogs are still reproducing, all the efforts being put into solving this issue are useless. They must be spaded to limit their increasing numbers. But the ministry continues to claim that no sufficient funds are available to neuter the dogs. The ministry must allocate funds by decreasing some of its less-important spending.”
Al Rayyes, who’s the municipal representative of the third constituency in Muharraq Governorate (Busaiteen), questioned:
“Why spend thousands on decorating the streets of the governorate, while more and more stray dogs roam the same roads. These funds should be spent in the right place. I’m sure there will be a public understanding for not decorating the roads for at least one year, to end the stray dogs phenomenon.”
Commenting on the recent statements made by the ministry, confirming that a shelter is being built in Ma’ameer village to accommodate stray animals, Al Rayyes said “the numbers of the dogs are rapidly multiplying and gathering them all in the shelter isn’t an efficient solution”, while he called for “adopting an effective programme to neuter the animals and allocate the necessary funds for it”.
The municipal council member criticised the municipalities and accused it of not paying enough efforts. He also claimed that “residents of the area are continuingly complaining about the stray dogs roaming in between residential neighbourhoods” adding that “at least three cases of stray dogs biting children were reported in Busaiteen since 2016”.
“I understand how compassionate animal activists could be, but those who were not harmed by this issue don’t really understand the struggle. The dogs are now entering the houses in Busaiteen, scaring the residents and attacking their pets,” Al Rayyes added.
As reported by DT News last week, the stray dogs matter has become one of the most discussed topics in local press, online forums and social networks lately.
The matter was debated by equal numbers of people compassionate with the animals and calling for adopting new laws to protect them on one side, and others warning of their dangers on the society.
This debate has been ongoing for at least the past seven years, with many incidents being reported on cruelty towards stray animals, and at the same time about the strays attacking humans and their pets.
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