Animal rights activists attacked, expelled from Erbil dog shelter
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A group of animal rights activists on Wednesday said they were attacked by the staff of a dog shelter in Erbil province after the group attempted to treat the stray dogs. Local authorities have launched an investigation into the incident.
Erika, an American-Russian animal rights activist, and her colleagues visited the newly-established Erbil dog shelter on Wednesday but were attacked and expelled from the shelter, according to footage obtained by Rudaw.
“Today was the second time that I visited the shelter though this time I decided to bring doctors with me who would be willing to do treatment for the puppies but it ended up really badly. They did not want the treatment to happen. They just wanted to take the medicine and they started [a] horrible fight with us. This shelter is hell on earth. There are 4,200 dogs that are in a horrible condition,” Erika, who has been helping animals in the Kurdistan Region for the last five years, told Rudaw’s Dilnya Rahman.
Erbil province’s environmental services department, which supervises the shelter, said in a statement that Erika asked them to be allowed in to help the dogs and that the entry was granted.
“Today, she was supposed to provide the shelter with some medicine but unfortunately when she entered the shelter she disrespected the shelter staff and vets who have worked in the field for a long time,” read the statement.
The department accused the team of lacking information about how dogs should be treated, and noted that the shelter staff prevented the activists from filming in the shelter.
The statement also noted that the shelter’s doors are open to anyone who wants to help the dogs, adding that local authorities have launched an investigation into the incident.
Farman Fazel, head of the Kurdistan Animal Protection Organization, told Rudaw that since the government cannot feed all the dogs in the shelter, those that have been sterilized, and hence will not bother people, are returned to the streets.
There are over 300 thousand stray dogs in the Kurdistan Region, according to the Sulaimani-based Kurdistan Green Party, which also reported at least 124 dog-related injuries in Erbil during the month of March.
Erika, an American-Russian animal rights activist, and her colleagues visited the newly-established Erbil dog shelter on Wednesday but were attacked and expelled from the shelter, according to footage obtained by Rudaw.
“Today was the second time that I visited the shelter though this time I decided to bring doctors with me who would be willing to do treatment for the puppies but it ended up really badly. They did not want the treatment to happen. They just wanted to take the medicine and they started [a] horrible fight with us. This shelter is hell on earth. There are 4,200 dogs that are in a horrible condition,” Erika, who has been helping animals in the Kurdistan Region for the last five years, told Rudaw’s Dilnya Rahman.
Erbil province’s environmental services department, which supervises the shelter, said in a statement that Erika asked them to be allowed in to help the dogs and that the entry was granted.
“Today, she was supposed to provide the shelter with some medicine but unfortunately when she entered the shelter she disrespected the shelter staff and vets who have worked in the field for a long time,” read the statement.
The department accused the team of lacking information about how dogs should be treated, and noted that the shelter staff prevented the activists from filming in the shelter.
The statement also noted that the shelter’s doors are open to anyone who wants to help the dogs, adding that local authorities have launched an investigation into the incident.
Farman Fazel, head of the Kurdistan Animal Protection Organization, told Rudaw that since the government cannot feed all the dogs in the shelter, those that have been sterilized, and hence will not bother people, are returned to the streets.
There are over 300 thousand stray dogs in the Kurdistan Region, according to the Sulaimani-based Kurdistan Green Party, which also reported at least 124 dog-related injuries in Erbil during the month of March.