Residents of Ethiopian town forced to kill hundreds of their own dogs after rabies deaths

Residents of an Ethiopian town have been forced to kill hundreds of their own dogs after three children died from rabies.

Powerful community groups in the central town of Hossana told residents they would be fined and arrested if their dogs were not killed, even if the animals had been vaccinated for rabies, residents told the BBC.

The community groups issued the orders after three children died from dog bites and 80 other people were hospitalised, local mayor Samuel Shigute said.

Eyewitnesses told the BBC that after the order was imposed, some reluctant owners hanged their dogs or beat them to death, while others were handed over to be killed.

The BBC has seen photos, which are too graphic to publish, of the bodies of dogs hanging from trees. Another image showed several dead dogs lying on a field with ropes around their necks.

The community associations behind the directive are affiliated with the local government, but Mayor Samuel called the dog killings "illegal" and told the BBC they were not ordered by his administration.

One resident, who did not wanted to be named for fear of reprisals, told the BBC he was ordered to kill his dog, but could not bring himself to do so.

"I decided not to kill him myself, but to let them do it without me seeing. I handed him over, and he was killed a little far from the settlement," he said.

"I am very saddened by the loss of the dog that lived with me for five years and was the pride of our house," he said, adding that his dog had been vaccinated for rabies.

Samuel said roughly 70% of Hossana's 10,000 dogs were guard dogs which had received rabies jabs.

Local vet Alaazar Ayele said he was "deeply saddened" by the deaths.

"We estimate that 400 to 450 dogs were killed in just a few days," he said

"People dragged dogs out and killed them in shocking ways. This is immoral and unacceptable in religion, culture, and law. Videos show owners crying as their dogs were killed."

Rabies is a serious disease which humans usually catch from the bite or scratch of an infected animal, such as a dog.

It is almost always fatal once symptoms appear in humans, but treatment administered before this point can be successful.

Unvaccinated dogs, in most cases, cannot survive the disease as there is no treatment for animals. Therefore, dogs across the world are usually put down if they are known to have rabies.

Samuel said local police and security forces stopped the dog killings "within a day".

However, Feven Melese, who runs an animal rights organisation in the capital, Addis Ababa, and has been receiving reports from Hossana, says that although the mass killings have stopped, individuals are still "going door to door asking people to get rid of unvaccinated dogs". Alaazar also said the killings were continuing.

Along with the threat of being arrested, dog owners were also told they would be fined 50,000 birr ($300; £225) if they did not put their animals down, one resident told the BBC.

In Ethiopia, it is illegal to kill animals in public spaces, or cause them to suffer in cruel and abnormal ways.

Samuel said he had ordered the police to investigate the killings, while Feven called for the authorities to take swift action.

"The local government bodies say that they did not do it and did not give the order. If not, they should hold the criminals accountable," she said.

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