ERBIL Kurdistan Region - Authorities in Erbil have launched a campaign to pay citizens 3,000 Iraqi dinars (about $2) per stray dog collected in an effort to counter the city’s stray population, a local official said on Sunday.
“Those who participate in the campaign will be paid 3,000 dinars for each dog they deliver to the Erbil shelter by the end of the week,” Zhyar Jalal, head of Erbil’s services and environmental protection directorate, told Rudaw.
Jalal explained that anyone with a three-wheeled motorcycle or car can participate in the campaign provided that they “modify their vehicle with a cage for catching dogs.”
“Without this modification, no contract will be prepared for them,” he added, with participants expected to sign a contract to take part in the initiative.
Earlier this month, Jalal said that more than 16,000 stray dogs have been collected in Erbil since efforts to control the city’s stray dog population intensified.
An estimated 31,000 stray dogs exist in Erbil, half of which are kept in shelters while the other half remain outside, according to statistics provided by Jalal.
Many people and environmental advocates have expressed concern over the potential for abuse during the campaign to collect stray dogs.
A stray dog shelter was built in Erbil in 2023 at a cost of over 480 million dinars (around $320,000). It is located on the Erbil-Gwer road.
The high number of stray dogs in Kurdistan Region cities remains a long-standing concern, with population control efforts often facing criticism from animal rights organizations. Dog shelters in Erbil and Zakho have been reported to suffer from overcrowding and a lack of food, leading to poor conditions and many of the animals dying.
Violence against stray dogs is rife in the Kurdistan Region, with the animals often considered a menace and a public health risk. They are commonly shooed away, beaten, hit with sticks, and killed by cars and gunshots.
