In a heartrending turn of events, as many as 200 dogs were culled-- either by beating or poisoning allegedly by locals -- on Saint Martin’s Island over the last few days.
Animal lovers have claimed that the local union parishad (UP) ordered the killings, an allegation Dhaka Tribune could not verify independently as Saint Martin’s Island UP Chairman Nur Ahmad was not available on phone.
The killing mission was launched on the ground that the dogs disturbed tourists, destroyed eggs laid by turtles and harmed their hatchlings, according to animal lovers.
Some tourists have alleged that they even sought help from some coastguard members in this regard, but in vain.
Such grave cruelty to the animals comes in gross violation of a law passed seven months ago and a 2014 High Court order to this end.
Samee Kader, an inhabitant of Cox’s Bazar town, said he first saw the carcasses of several dogs, including puppies, kept in at least two holes dug near a jetty on the island when he arrived there on Wednesday afternoon.
“I think at least 15 dogs and puppies were there. And on our way to a resort, we saw no less than 50 dogs hovering around, and discovered a few more holes,” he recalled.
The next day, he said, a mere 11 dogs were seen alive in the area.
“Immediately afterwards, a stockpile of around 20 dead dogs near the jetty caught our attention,” Samee further noted.
“We also saw three young men injecting some other dogs to death. As I was filming the incident on my cell phone, a man claiming to be a forest department employee obstructed me,” he added.
However, the man did not disclose his name, but said that the local administration had ordered them to do the culling.
“The man also mentioned the Teknaf municipality mayor in particular,” Samee said, adding that they immediately reported the matter to two coastguard personnel standing nearby, but they refused to help.
This correspondent called Lt Commander Nayeemul Haq of Bangladesh Coast Guard's Saint Martin's Island station several times, but to no avail.
When contacted, Cox’s Bazar Coastal Forest Department Assistant Forest Conservator Md Saidul Islam said the department had no manpower on the island and so it was beyond question that any of their employees was linked to the incident.
Teknaf Municipality Mayor Mohammed Islam told Dhaka Tribune that he had not ordered such cruelty to be perpetrated on the animals.
Rakibul Haq Emil, founder of People for Animal Welfare, said his organisation too had learnt of the mass dog culling.
“Two of my friends recently visited the island and witnessed such a heinous act against dogs,” he said.
“We received complaints that the culprits in collusion with the local union parishad authorities killed at least 200 dogs in the last few days,” he said, adding that they primarily planned to cull 500 dogs before the killing mission got underway.
Emil said that preparations were going on for a lawsuit to be filed over the incident.
Teknaf’s Upazila Nirbahi Officer Muhammad Saiful Islam said he was not aware of the development.
“But local newspapers reported that tourists were feeling insecure due to the growing population of dogs on the island,” he said.
Of relevant actions
Parliament on July 7 last year passed the Animal Welfare Act -2019 to prevent cruelty to animals, such as through tethering dogs without giving them the scope to move for 24 straight hours or more.
Stray animals not owned by any individual must be treated with compassion, according to the new law, which also prohibits the unnecessary killing of an animal by euthanasia, or keeping an animal captive for 24 hours.
Anyone found violating the provisions of the law will be jailed for six months or fined Tk10,000, or both. Previously, the punishment was three months or a Tk1000 fine.
However, slaughtering of animals in accordance with religious customs and laws will not be considered animal cruelty under the new law.
The High Court on December 14, 2014 issued an order to stop animal-fighting competitions and dog culling in Sunamganj and asked the government to explain why such competitions would not be banned in the country.