Animal welfare activists, volunteers, and concerned citizens formed a human chain in front of the Raju Sculpture at Dhaka University on Saturday, demanding an end to calls for stray dog culling and urging the government to strengthen humane and scientific animal management programs.
The demonstration was organized to protest campaigns advocating the killing of stray dogs and to press for the proper implementation of the Animal Welfare Act, 2019, as well as the expansion of the nationwide Catch-Neuter-Vaccinate-Release (CNVR) program.
Speakers at the human chain alleged that a group has recently been conducting campaigns and submitting memorandums demanding the culling of stray dogs. They argued that presenting dog culling as a solution while disregarding vaccination and sterilization efforts contradicts national law, High Court directives and internationally recognized public health guidelines.
The organizers said that Sections 6, 7(1), and 7(2) of the Animal Welfare Act, 2019, prohibit causing unnecessary suffering to animals, killing them, or subjecting them to cruelty, making such acts punishable offenses.
They emphasized that CNVR remains the government-approved and internationally recognized method for managing stray dog populations in Bangladesh. Under the program, dogs are captured, sterilized, vaccinated against rabies, and then released back into their original territories.
Speakers also referred to a 2014 High Court directive that halted stray dog culling activities, arguing that renewed calls for dog culling run contrary to both legal provisions and court orders.
Participants claimed that rabies-related deaths in Bangladesh have declined significantly over the past decade due to sustained vaccination and sterilization initiatives carried out by government agencies, veterinary professionals, animal welfare organizations, and volunteers. They said the progress demonstrates that vaccination and sterilization are the most effective and humane approaches to controlling rabies and managing community dogs.
The speakers further criticized what they described as misinformation and fearmongering surrounding stray dogs, including the circulation of videos and images from other countries falsely portrayed as incidents from Bangladesh. They also expressed concern over online harassment and abusive comments directed at animal welfare workers and animal lovers.
The demonstrators called for strict enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act, 2019; implementation of High Court directives; an end to stray dog culling and illegal relocation; expansion of CNVR programs nationwide; stronger rabies vaccination campaigns; and action against misleading propaganda targeting community animals.
Animal Lovers of Bangladesh founder and chairman, Dipanwita Ridi, said that certain groups had been conducting campaigns and spreading propaganda demanding the culling of stray dogs.
Condemning such campaigns encouraging the culling of stray dogs, she said that indiscriminate killing or relocation of dogs is not legal and is not a long-term solution to the problem.
Dipanwita further said that the government-approved and internationally recognized method for controlling stray dogs in Bangladesh was 'Catch-Neuter-Vaccinate-Release.'
