The stray overpopulation crisis has led many governments to engage in the mass killing of stray dogs and cats.
These innocent animals have feelings, just like our beloved companion animals. They could have lived long, happy lives -- if only a better solution existed!
Humans have made these animals love us and depend on us, and humans have let them down for far too long. It’s time to change that!
You may already be familiar with the word “culling.” Culling is just another word for “killing.” It means killing animals to reduce the population. But humans are not entitled to decide who lives and dies. It’s a cheap, cruel method.
The stray overpopulation crisis can cause issues for humans in terms of public health and safety, but killing perfectly healthy animals who just want to live is not OK!
First, what is the stray overpopulation crisis?
The Stray Animal Overpopulation Crisis
As you may know, dogs and cats reproduce very quickly.
The stray population has rapidly gotten out of control. On any given day, over 600 million stray dogs and cats across the globe suffer on the streets. If humans do nothing, these homeless dogs and cats live short lives, but they live long enough to have puppies and kittens, and the cycle of suffering continues.
There are far too many stray animals and not enough homes.
The U.S. has animal shelters that are meant to manage the overpopulation crisis through providing temporary spaces for stray dogs and cats until a permanent home has been found. The U.S. is very wealthy compared to most countries, and spends over a billion tax dollars each year on the pet overpopulation problem. Private rescue groups spend even more, each year. In spite of all this effort, it's estimated that approximately a million dogs and cats are still put to death every year in U.S. shelters, due to lack of homes.
And in many countries around the world, stray dogs and cats live their lives entirely on the streets.
Strays suffer without the love and care of a reliable guardian and good home. And tragically, strays can also pose a risk to public health, from rabies and dog bites.
This leads many countries to turn to brutally killing strays.
Examples of Mass Killing Strays: Sporting Events
Disturbingly, there have been many recent examples of countries turning to mass killing of stray dogs and cats around international sporting events, when the country wants to look good in front of the rest of the world.
In preparation for the Beijing Olympics in 2008, hundreds of thousands of stray dogs and cats were loaded into trucks and transported to what animal protection groups described as “death camps.”
The same thing happened in Russia during the Sochi Olympics in 2014. It’s been reported that officials laced meat with poison and distributed it to stray dogs. Strychnine, the particular poison used, causes a slow and agonizing death, and it can take over an hour of suffering before the dog dies.
Just before the start of this year, stray dogs in Morocco were reportedly shot and poisoned in the streets. This all happened in the lead-up to Morocco hosting the FIFA Club World Cup in February of 2023. A local animal shelter, SFT Animal Sanctuary, had been vaccinating and neutering/spaying stray dogs and then tagging them as a way to protect them from being killed. The sanctuary posted an urgent call for help on Facebook in late January: “Due to the FIFA visit the Wali of Tangier has given the order to kill all stray dogs and the dog killer contacted me to tell me all tagged dogs must be picked up.”
Horrifyingly, mass killings like these don’t just happen around sporting events...they can happen any time.
Other Examples of the Mass Killing of Strays
Public events aren’t the only excuse that authorities use to justify murdering stray animals.
Right now, in Bahrain, an incredibly wealthy country in the Middle East, stray dogs are being shot and poisoned in the streets. You can read more and sign our petition here:
Romania announced a policy in 2000 called “catch and kill.” The government paid dog catchers to catch dogs and bring them io shelters only to put them to death.
In Australia in 2015, the government announced plans to kill 2 million feral cats by 2020.
Here in the U.S., Hawaii also announced a plan to mass-poison feral cats. Authorities place the blame on cats for destroying natural eco-systems. Cats are just ONE of many factors believed to be impacting bird populations and leading to a decline. And how ironic is it to kill animals in order to save animals?
The Solution to the Mass Killing of Strays
Clearly a humane, effective solution is needed.
The number one way to reduce the population of strays is to prevent them from being born in the first place.
Currently, systems such as “trap, neuter, release” (TNR) are commonly in place. TNR programs will capture stray dogs and cats, bring them to the veterinarian to undergo a spay/neuter operation, and then release them again. TNR does a great job at helping to prevent more unwanted births, but these programs require a lot of time, money, and effort. In many cases, not enough veterinarians are available to assist with stray animal populations. Also, spay/neuter surgery is considered “major surgery,” and complications, while rare, can happen.
Until we have a better option to handle the stray overpopulation crisis, the brutal killing of innocent dogs and cats will go on and on.
That’s why our nonprofit science-centered mission is to significantly reduce animal suffering on a global scale by developing a safe, edible, one-dose, permanent-lasting birth control Cookie for stray dogs and cats!
Will you join us in ending the greatest cause of suffering facing dogs and cats?
To see documentation of this suffering, visit our Photos of Suffering page. Caution: these photos and videos are disturbing.
What we do and why we do it ...
At 600 Million Dogs, our nonprofit science-centered mission is to significantly reduce animal suffering on a global scale by developing a safe, edible, one-dose, permanent-lasting birth control Cookie for stray dogs and cats.
Because the truth is overwhelmingly clear ...
... millions of homeless dogs and cats suffering each year need our help.
The biggest hurdle we face is that this type of birth control Cookie is still in the R&D stage and drug companies refuse to work on it.
But we're determined to develop this much needed birth control.
Even though we're a small grassroots organization.
Working on a grassroots budget.
We will continue working on a permanent solution to the global suffering of strays until we succeed.
Our dedicated scientists are making important progress while working part-time, but we need scientists working full-time to finish the job.
That's why we need your help.
If you would like to support our work developing a permanent birth control Cookie, please make a tax-deductible gift of any amount.
No matter the size, your gift will make a tangible impact in the fight to end suffering ...
... and the animals will be forever grateful.
Please visit the rest of our website 600MillionDogs.org to learn more.
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