TEHRAN – Following the overpopulation of stray dogs in Damavand county, northeastern part of Tehran, some animal right advocates have proposed a scheme to control their population, ISNA reported on Sunday.

Stray dogs are unconfined dogs that live in cities. They may be pets which have strayed from or are allowed freedom by their owners, or may be feral animals that have never been owned. Street dog overpopulation can cause problems for the societies in which they live.

Currently, the municipality has collected the stray dogs for vaccination and sterilization, but it is not possible to release them near the urban areas even after vaccination and sterilization, an animal right advocate, Amin Behdad said.

So, we proposed a scheme, through which dogs will be released after sterilization and vaccination at certain locations outside the residential areas, where food stations are designed to prevent them from heading to residential areas searching for food, he explained.

Some locations around urban areas will be covered with plants and seedlings for such dogs, under the scheme, he noted.

He went on to say that feral dogs are not a threat to humans after vaccination and sterilization, in addition, they are necessary in urban areas as they prevent other animals entrance into the cities such as hyenas and wolves.

“Under the scheme, some 25 food stations are scheduled to be set up around Damavand county.

Moreover, a center stretching to 3000 square meters will be set up for dogs’ recovery consisting of a surgery room, a vaccination room, and etc.

After collecting dogs, they stay in the center for two to three days to recover, and then they are released into the defined locations.”

Majid Kharrazian-Moqaddam, director of the wildlife conservation and management at the Department of Environment, warned in June that measures to control stray dog population must be employed, otherwise they will impose threats to the wildlife.

Behzad Amiri, head of zoonotic diseases department at the Ministry of Health, said in October 2018 that rabies, an infectious viral disease spread to people through animal bites, impose health economic burden amounting to 1.8 trillion rials (about $42 million) on the country annually.

FB/MG