Man held for torturing dog

A man was arrested on Saturday a few hours after he appeared in footage brutally torturing a dog at a residence in the Northern Governorate.

The man was secretly filmed by an unknown individual while on the rooftop of a building. He was seen beating a dog that was tied by its neck to a clothesline. In the video, the man was also seen filming the strangling dog while beating it using a stick. The footage was widely shared by animal activists and netizens on local social media pages and groups, in a bid to publicize the man’s face and eventually nab him.

A few hours later, Northern Governorate Police Directorate confirmed that the incident took place in Bani Jamrah and the person seen in the video has been arrested.  

This was confirmed in a statement that was posted on Interior Ministry’s official page on Twitter, stating: “With reference to a circulated video on the social media, the Director-General of Northern Governorate Police, has announced the arrest of a man for torturing a dog in Bani Jamra. Legal proceedings are being taken to refer the case to the Public Prosecution.”

However, the ministry didn’t reveal any further details on the fate of the dog or the man. But, animal activists in the country have demanded to impose tough punishment on the man, to curb the increasing cruelty against animals, especially stray dogs, of late.