Yangon (formerly known as Rangoon) is the largest city in Myanmar (formerly Burma). It has been brought to the attention of our coalition that officials of Yangon city are allowing and encouraging their agents to go out in to the streets to use extremely cruel measures to decimate the stray dog population. Putting down meat laced with rat poison sentences street dogs to convulse in pain for hours before death. No methods are in place to mitigate pain, or to distinguish stray dogs from pets.
As if this were not bad enough, The Myanmar Times are reporting that dogs are being stolen from local people’s private property, with some owners even being threatened with imprisonment if they ‘hide’ their dogs from the authorities due to new laws. Read the article HERE
The Asia for Animals Coalition recognises that the problem of stray animals has serious implications for both the people and animals involved, in terms of health, welfare and money. However, international experience has shown that the mass killing of stray dogs is an unsafe, inhumane and ineffective method of long-term population control, which fails to address the main problem of dog overpopulation.
In response to the problem, a local monastery has begun taking in strays, but sadly this just seems to be making matters worse. The monastery currently “shelters” 1,500 stray dogs, who are housed along with cats, pigs and horses. As you can imagine, conditions for animals there have quickly become awful as the problem escalates. We have images and footage showing excruciating injuries, bad sanitation, and many starvation cases.
Our coalition has come together to author a letter to the Chairman and Mayor of Yangon City, providing him with outline advice on how to properly address the issue of dog over-population, and asking him to reply to us urgently, so that he may work with us and our member organisations to implement a new system of dog control now. Read our letter in full, supported by 200 animal welfare organisations HERE
