Activists Slam Mass Killing of Stray Dogs in Khuzestan

The political deputy governor of Shushtar in Khuzestan province has intervened after reports that stray dogs have recently been rounded up and killed en masse by the municipality.

Mohammad Hassan Kajbafi has declared that if “controlling the population of stray dogs” has to happen, it must take place “immediately” so as not to endanger people’s health, adding that health will always take priority over “other issues”.

The remarks came in the wake of a string of accusations by animal rights activists about the mass killings of strays in some Iranian cities. For his part, Kajbafi praised the efforts of institutions to control the number of strays but said they may not go far enough.

Animal rights activists in Khuzestan have pushed back against the measures, saying that protecting citizens’ health is being used as a “pretext” by authorities to put down healthy dogs.