Stray dog attacks rise across Iraq’s Al-Anbar as residents urge action
Shafaq News – Al-Anbar
Stray dogs are increasingly spreading across cities in Al-Anbar province, with reported attacks on children and residents prompting calls for urgent action.
Qais Najah, director of Al-Anbar’s Environment Directorate, told Shafaq News that responsibility for addressing the issue does not fall under the environment or health sectors. He said the Veterinary Department is the sole authority legally empowered to handle the phenomenon, as it is responsible for procuring substances used to cull stray dogs—materials classified as restricted and available only through official channels.
Najah said a joint committee has been formed in the province to tackle the problem by providing the Veterinary Department with the financial allocations needed to purchase the materials and carry out field campaigns in coordination with district administrations across the province. He added that Al-Anbar’s governor raised the issue at a recent meeting and instructed district heads to coordinate directly with the Veterinary Department and activate the committee’s work.
Read more: Culling vs. Sterilization: The battle over Baghdad's stray dogs
According to Najah, the Environment Directorate’s role is limited to supervising the burial of culled dogs, while local governments in the districts, working with the veterinary hospital, are responsible for implementing other aspects of the campaign.
Separately, Mohammed al-Qaisi, head of media at Al-Anbar’s Health Directorate, said the primary responsibility for dealing with stray dogs rests with the Veterinary Department in cooperation with municipalities. He noted that the Health Directorate’s role is confined to providing vaccines and treatment to citizens following bite incidents.
Despite these assurances, residents complain that attacks continue and that effective field campaigns remain absent. They warn of escalating health and humanitarian risks—particularly to children—citing what they describe as weak institutional responses and a failure to translate meetings and committees into tangible measures to curb the growing problem.
Earlier this week, a child was critically injured after being attacked by a group of stray dogs in a residential neighborhood of Ramadi, Al-Anbar’s capital.
