New graphic video released by a Lebanese animal rights group shows municipal workers allegedly poisoning stray dogs in the southern Beirut suburb of Ghobeiry.
According to the group Animals Lebanon, the workers are accused of luring dogs to poisoned meat and throwing the animals into the back of a municipal vehicle. It is unclear where the dogs are transported.
The animal rights group says they contacted the Ghobeiry municipality and were told the dogs are “aggressive and attacked many people,” according to a post on their Facebook page.
“All of this suffering was completely avoidable and unnecessary,” the group said in a statement. “It brought no benefit to people or animals, and actually harms national efforts to manage homeless dogs.”
President Michel Aoun posted a reminder to Facebook about an animal welfare law passed in August that imposed animal abuse fines of up to $13,000.
“Stray dogs may pose danger to people in several ways but the methods to resolve these cases are also numerous,” Aoun said in a statement. “These methods are definitely not what we have witnessed on television and social media channels especially after the new animal protection law was signed earlier this year.”
Walid Jumblatt, leader of the country’s Druze community, tweeted a photo of his dog and called the incident “absolute ignorance,” and a “crime.”
اذا كان من كائن ليذكرنا بإنسانيتنا ويعلمنا الاخلاص والمحبة والوفاء والحنان فهو الكلب .ان تسميم الكلاب في الغبيري وبالسابق في الشويفات مرورا بغيرها من المناطق هو اجرام ودليل تخلف وجهل مطلق في الترببة العامة .كم من درس علينا ان نتعلم للحفاظ على الطبيعة والبيئة للوصول الى المواطنة pic.twitter.com/4xdcx3ACks
— Walid Joumblatt (@walidjoumblatt) December 29, 2017
The animal rights group is calling on Lebanese citizens to contact the Ministry of Interior to urge the practice to be stopped by all municipalities.