ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – A Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) health official on Tuesday was attacked by several dogs in Sulaimani, sustaining injuries and being transferred to hospital.

Deputy Director General of Health in Sulaimani Herish Said Salim was transferred to Shar Hospital to receive treatment following an attack “by a number of stray dogs inside a residential project in the city of Sulaimani, and both of his legs were bitten and injured,” according to a statement from the Sulaimani's General Directorate of Health.

Director General of Sulaimani Health Sabah Hawrami told The New Region that he has visited the wounded deputy and asserted that “he has received treatment and his health is stable.”

The large number of unmonitored and unregistered stray dogs across the Kurdistan Region’s provinces has become a security concern for residents.

The frequent stray dog attacks are a result of a lack of shelters to house the large number of dogs populating the region. The existing shelters do not provide suitable living conditions, with recorded cases of starving dogs eating each other in some of them.

In 2022, animal rights activists in Sulaimani protested a provincial campaign to collect stray dogs and place them in the province’s shelters, labeling the shelters as “slaughterhouses.” Instead, they suggested that the dogs be neutered and returned to the streets.

In January, the Kurdistan Islamic Scholars Union declared the killing of stray dogs “halal,” or Islamically permissible, a directive that drew condemnation from locals and animal rights activists who urged the government to address the issue in line with animal rights standards.

The Kurdistan Region passed the first-ever animal protection law in late 2022, deeming the killing of stray animals forbidden by any means.

In March, The New Region published footage showing rounded-up strays being mistreated at a dog shelter in Erbil, with dozens of wretched animals transferred from Bardarash being dropped from a truck with no concern for their welfare. Another video clip showing a distressed female dog watch her puppies being burned alive in Sulaimani's Qualaraisi neighborhood provoked horror after it circulated on social media.

Heartbreaking footage of stray dogs being mistreated in Erbil and Sulaimani have sparked public outrage, with many people calling for urgent action to protect stray animals in the Kurdistan Region. pic.twitter.com/YgNVIVX3rJ

— The New Region (@thenewregion) March 13, 2025

According to the Sulaimani-based Kurdistan Green Party, over 300,000 stray dogs roam the streets of the Kurdistan Region.