Why are stray dogs being killed in Islamabad, court asks officials

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has issued notices to the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) chairpersons, as well as the capital’s mayor on a plea seeking contempt of court proceedings against them in a stray dogs case.

Chief Justice Athar Minallah directed them to explain why the proceedings might not be initiated against the officials responsible for violating the court’s directions.

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Advocate Saira Mehreen Abbasi, who represented the petitioner, alleged that stray dogs are being killed in violation of the directions given by the court.

She recalled that the IHC had directed the board to enforce “provision of the Wildlife Ordinance 1979 and the Act of 1890 so that no animal is treated in a manner that subjects it to unnecessary pain and suffering”.

The board, being the competent authority, was instructed to formulate a policy to deal with the menace of stray dogs in line with the “best practices observed internationally and the injunctions of Islam which teaches treating animals in humane manner”, the counsel stated.

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The IHC further directed the wildlife board chairperson to explain whether a policy was devised by the board to ensure stray dogs are not “subjected to unnecessary pain and suffering”.