ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Kurdistan Islamic Scholars Union on Monday issued a rare and ruthless directive, deeming the killing of stray dogs “halal” or religiously allowed on the grounds that they are dangerous for human lives.
“Since the number of the strays is on the rise day by day and stray attacks on people have increased, posing dangers to our people, today we issued a fatwa [directive] to deem the killing of those strays who are dangerous as halal,” Dr. Jihad Besfki, head of the Duhok branch of the Kurdistan Islamic Scholars Union, told The New Region.
There are over 15,000 stray dogs in Duhok province, according to data from the Kurdistan Organization for Animal Rights Protection.
The tragic directive comes as the construction of a dog shelter at the cost of 232 million dinars has already been completed, but it has yet to be opened.
In 2024, at least 20 people were wounded as a result of stray attacks, according to data The New Region has received from relevant authorities in Duhok.
The surprising directive immediately drew condemnation from locals and animal rights activists, urging the government to address the issue in line with animal rights standards.
“We are strongly condemning this fatwa, it is neither scientific nor religious,” Sulaiman Tameer, founder and president of the Kurdistan Organization for Animal Rights Protection, told The New Region. “We are calling on the government to disallow this fatwa from being executed.”
People regularly complain about the growing population of stray dogs in the neighborhoods across the Kurdistan Region.
The Kurdistan Region passed the first-ever animal protection law in late 2022, deeming the killing of stray animals forbidden by any means.
However, on several occasions, people have shown no respect for the law, killing and poisoning stray dogs with impunity, deeming it a “cheap” and “easy” solution to the growing stray dog population as opposed to systematic neutering.
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