Stray dog attacks injure two in Kirkuk amid criticism of “inhumane” culling
Shafaq News- Kirkuk
Two Iraqi nationals were wounded in separate stray dog attacks in Kirkuk province, a medical source told Shafaq News on Saturday.
According to the source, a 46-year-old woman in the Rizkari neighborhood and a 26-year-old man in the Al-Orouba neighborhood were targeted. Both received first aid and vaccinations, with their condition reported as relatively stable.
The incidents come amid growing complaints from residents about the rising presence of stray dogs in several Iraqi cities, urging the country’s authorities to reinforce public safety measures.
Iraq is estimated to have more than one million stray dogs. In Kirkuk alone, health officials recorded over 1,000 dog-bite cases during the first five months of 2025. The attacks triggered several campaigns and policies that permitted the poisoning and killing of stray dogs.
The Green Party in the Kurdistan Region criticized the recent campaign, describing the methods used to control stray dogs as inhumane and inconsistent with environmental and ethical standards.
In a statement, the party noted that the campaign caused multiple animal deaths, leaving carcasses in the streets and creating scenes described as “shocking,” which harmed the city’s image.
Arguing that such measures fail to address the root of the stray dog problem and reflect a lack of scientific and humane planning, the statement called for sustainable steps such as establishing animal shelters and launching vaccination and sterilization programs.
Earlier, several Iraqi animal rights advocates criticized provincial policies allowing the killing of stray dogs, warning that culling could disrupt the ecological balance and violate Kurdistan Region Law No. 14 of 2022, which bans the killing of stray animals and mandates humane care.
Read more: Deadly dog attacks: Who protects Iraq’s neighborhoods?
