KARACHI’S stray dog crisis requires urgent attention. Feral canines can cause serious and lasting physical and psychological trauma to victims, and experts warn that the incidence of dog attacks has been rising in the port city. A roundtable held this week by the FPCCI and the Indus Hospital Network framed it as a public safety emergency. It must, however, be urged that the authorities ought to deal with this crisis with a clear moral compass. They must not resort to the kind of brutal, indiscriminate culling that has historically served as a lazy answer, especially when the problem can be resolved in other ways. The good news is that many humane, effective solutions already exist. A population control project combining catch teams, vaccination drives and neutering programmes was approved by the government over four years ago. Unfortunately, it has collapsed since then. A proposal for animal shelters also awaits approval, even though government land is available.

Likewise, trap-neuter-vaccinate programmes have demonstrably reduced stray populations in cities across Asia without the cruelty and public backlash that culling invites. Responsible waste management, especially to remove food sources that sustain street dog populations, also helps significantly. These are not just ‘soft’ options: they will work if there is enough commitment to seeing them through. It seems that all they need is a strong political will. It must also be mentioned here that feral dogs are not just an urban problem. Many health facilities in interior Sindh reportedly lack rabies medicines, which means preventable deaths can become inevitable ones. It is imperative, therefore, for the Sindh government to immediately revive its stray dog population control project, ensure rabies vaccines reach district hospitals and push local governments towards a coordinated, adequately funded response. Protecting people and treating animals humanely should not be seen as competing goals. It is merely bureaucratic inertia that is making the streets dangerous for humans and animals alike. This needs to change.

Published in Dawn, March 11th, 2026