A SERVICE to report stray animals in neighbourhoods has led to a number of dogs being captured and neutered in Buhair over the past few months.
The animal wealth directorate at the Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry reported that 33 dogs were captured following complaints from residents in the area.
“In co-ordination with the company specialised in trapping stray dogs, we have intensified our campaign to round up stray dogs according to the procedures followed in this regard,” a spokesperson from the ministry said in a statement.
The GDN previously reported that more teams were being tasked to clamp down on stray dogs across Bahrain, according to Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Minister Essam Khalaf.
The company in charge of the operation, Black Gold, hired to work round-the-clock for seven days a week, captured 163 dogs out of the 251 complaints submitted from residential areas over a four-month period.
The ministry’s Agriculture and Marine Resources vet clinics and disease control department chief Dr Abbas Al Hayki had previously told the GDN that land allocation was at its ‘final stages’ for a proposed ‘pet park’ set to accommodate thousands of stray dogs.
“We are sparing no efforts to humanely deal with the stray dogs as we are currently implementing a CNR programme and relocation to Askar as a temporary solution and we are getting countless complaints daily about dogs in residential areas,” he stated.
“A proposed shelter in Ma’ameer wasn’t a useful solution because it would only house around 300 dogs and we have thousands of dogs. That is why the pet park remains an ideal solution.
“It will be sited on 50,000sqm of land in Askar and take in around 5,000 dogs. We are just waiting for the allocation so that the budget can be set aside by the ministry.”
He urged people to refrain from the inhumane treatment of stray animals as it counteracts the efforts of the government to humanely tackle the problem.
The ministry also highlighted that the reporting stray dogs can be done online now, and the designated company responds to all submitted applications as soon as possible.
It confirmed that it continuously deals with reports received regarding large packs of stray dogs in various regions of Bahrain, taking the necessary measures as soon as these reports are received.
“Citizens and residents can submit reports of stray dogs in residential areas, as the service is now available online,” the statement added.
“This service of catching stray dogs in residential areas depends on responding to complaints from citizens and residents.”
The agency indicated that complaints can be submitted around the clock, seven days a week by sending a WhatsApp message to 38099994.
The complainant will then be provided with a form to fill out, which will be forwarded to the company.
This is in addition to the current hotline 17155363, which is available from Saturday to Thursday from 7am to 3pm.
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