Lahore municipal body faces allegations after video shows dead stray dogs near Ring Road

Another instance of the murder of stray dogs by the Metropolitan Corporation Lahore has been reported following the emergence of another video revealing dead bodies of stray dogs being transported close to Harbanspura Ring Road.

The video appears to show the dead dogs being carried into the vehicle linked to the Punjab Chief Minister's Suthra Punjab project. Moreover, the video reports that vehicles allocated for the cleanliness project have been utilized to transport the animals.

According to the video, a citizen is heard asking an official about the court order prohibiting the killing of stray dogs. However, the official apparently replies saying that "there is no ban," but "the government is doing it."

This video has emerged despite the directives issued by the Lahore High Court ordering the Punjab government to apply the Punjab Animal Birth Control (TNVR) Policy 2021.

In the court hearings, officials of the government assured the court that the stray dogs will not be killed and instead, managed under TNVR program.

The TNVR Policy was adopted by the Government of Punjab in 2021 to provide a humane method for managing the stray dog population. According to the policy, the stray dogs will be caught, sterilized, vaccinated against rabies, and released at the same place where they were caught.

Nonetheless, non-governmental organizations working for the protection of animals have consistently raised the issue that stray dogs are still being killed in Lahore and other places of Punjab despite the directive of the courts and official policy of the government.

Moreover, according to animal rights activists, stray dogs have been killed allegedly in several private housing societies.