Save us from 'street dogs'
Throughout history, the dog has remained close to human life; a companion in homes, a guardian of property, and a partner in travel and work. However, this long-standing relationship, built on familiarity and mutual benefit, takes on another face when dogs become stray packs, without care or supervision. They move from the circle of companionship into the realm of danger, becoming a source of concern that threatens human safety, especially in places where they intersect with daily life. Stray dogs are not a phenomenon specific to one country, nor an emergency problem imposed by specific local conditions. It is an issue addressed by cities and societies around the world, from major capitals to residential areas and remote outskirts. State responses vary from vaccination and sterilization campaigns and the establishment of shelters to encouraging adoption and tightening supervision on pet ownership, extending to other measures that raise questions about the balance between animal welfare and human protection.
In Kuwait, stray dogs are no longer just a passing sight on a road or gatherings that appear at night in open areas. In recent years, their presence has extended from remote wilderness areas to the outskirts of cities, residential zones, and industrial areas. Reports of bites and attacks have repeated, turning the phenomenon into a file affecting public safety and requiring solutions that go beyond handling each incident individually. With every new incident, procedures resurface: a report from a citizen, a call to emergency services, the movement of field teams, and then the issue calms down until a new gathering appears or another incident occurs. Recently, the Ministry of Interior renewed its call for citizens and residents not to approach stray dogs or provoke them, to monitor children and the elderly, and to report their gathering locations via the emergency number 112. Meanwhile, the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources continues to receive reports and implement field campaigns to control them.
But the question that imposes itself is: Is the problem merely the number of dogs on the streets, or is it the reasons that cause the phenomenon to persist despite campaigns and measures? Why does Kuwait still face this challenge decades after the issuance of legislation regulating dog ownership and establishing preventive measures against their dangers? One study published on mammal bite cases in Kuwait, which analyzed data from 24,426 cases between 2012 and 2020, showed that dogs were the cause in 53.22 percent of cases, compared to 42.29 percent for cats. These historical data do not necessarily reflect the scale of the phenomenon today, but they reveal that the health problem associated with dogs is not new. In September 2025, data from the Animal Health Administration indicated approximately 60 bite cases per month due to stray dogs, coinciding with requests to allocate sites for establishing shelter centers in various governorates, including facilities for sterilization, vaccination, veterinary care, rehabilitation, and adoption. Additionally, data announced in 2024 revealed that specialized teams managed to seize approximately 6,500 stray dogs within one year, with two shelter centers existing at the time, one in Fahaheel and the other on the Sixth Ring Road, alongside the sterilization of some dogs and their return to open areas, and the presentation of some for adoption. Previously, the number of reports and complaints received by the Authority over five years exceeded 5,000, while plans were directed toward establishing shelters and conducting sterilization, vaccination, and veterinary care.
These numbers alone do not answer the most important question: What is the actual number of stray dogs in Kuwait? To date, no recent official figure has been published that can be treated as a comprehensive census. This is a problem in itself; because any plan that does not start with knowing the scale of the phenomenon and its sources will remain closer to managing reports than managing the problem.
**The Paradox of the 1969 Law**
Kuwait does not start from a legislative vacuum. Since April 8, 1969, Law No. 9 concerning the possession of dogs and preventive measures against rabies has been in effect. This legislation remains valid. The law does not merely regulate the handling of stray dogs; it starts from the root of the problem: the owned dog, its owner, and licensing conditions. It requires registering the owner’s and dog’s data and source, examining and vaccinating the dog against rabies, and creating special records for licensed dogs. It also mandates annual vaccination, the use of identification means, and control in public places. Furthermore, it regulates the handling of dogs that bite humans or animals and grants veterinary authorities the power to euthanize stray dogs that may pose a danger to people. Thus, for more than half a century, the law has not viewed the stray dog as the sole problem; rather, it placed a significant part of the solution in regulating ownership and responsibility.
The question here is: If the law regulates the possession, registration, vaccination, and monitoring of dogs, how do numbers of them end up on the streets? Who monitors sales, purchases, and abandonment? Is there a modern database that allows for knowing the dog and its owner and tracking ownership transfer? What is the extent of applying the stipulated violations and penalties? These questions are more important than chasing a dog after it reaches the street; because dealing with the result without the source means the problem can reproduce itself regardless of the number of campaigns.
**Managing the System**
In recent years, relevant authorities have moved more than once. In April 2025, the Authority announced a campaign to control the spread of stray dogs using methods described as humane and internationally endorsed, calling on citizens and residents to send reports and gathering locations via designated communication channels. Then, in September of the same year, a proposal emerged to create shelter centers in each governorate, so their mission would not be limited to collecting dogs but would include sterilization, rabies vaccination, veterinary care, rehabilitation, training, and adoption. This is a different step in the concept of dealing with the phenomenon, but it opens another question: Is creating shelters enough if the influx of new dogs continues? A shelter can accommodate a limited number, a campaign can catch a limited number, and sterilization can limit reproduction, but the system will not reach a sustainable result if open food sources remain, abandonment continues, supervision on possession and trade weakens, and an accurate database measuring dog numbers, locations, and interventions is lacking. Therefore, file management should not stop at receiving a report after a dog appears in front of a home, school, or facility. Preventive management starts before that through: enumerating the phenomenon, identifying gathering hotspots, knowing food and reproduction sources, controlling ownership, preventing animal abandonment, sterilization and vaccination, providing shelter when needed, and measuring results periodically. Most importantly, citizens must know what happened after the report: Did the team arrive? How many dogs were seized? What happened to them? Did the same group return to the site after weeks?
The problem is not the absence of reports, nor the absence of law, nor the complete absence of campaigns. The problem requiring a more precise answer is: Do these elements work within a single system, or does each measure address part of the problem at a different time? Kuwait has a law dating back to 1969, field teams, reports, sterilization programs, and proposals for shelter centers, yet stray dogs still return to the scene. This makes the next question natural: Did other countries face the same problem in the same way? Or did they change the method of file management fundamentally?
From the Gulf to other countries, different experiences emerged: Some countries chose sterilization, vaccination, and release; others expanded shelter and adoption programs; others tightened owner responsibility and prohibited abandonment; while some countries adopted stricter models for collecting and sheltering dogs. The question worth seeking answers to in international experiences is not: Who killed the largest number of dogs? But: Who was able to actually reduce the problem, how did they do it, and what can Kuwait learn from experiences that faced similar conditions?
**A Legal Perspective: Human Protection Precedes Animal Welfare**
Between the call for animal welfare and the fears imposed by stray dog gatherings in streets and residential areas, a legal and humanitarian question emerges: How does Islam deal with animals, and what happens when this animal transforms from a creature deserving mercy into a source of harm threatening people?
For his part, Professor Dr. Mohammed Abdulghaffar Al-Sharif, a professor at the College of Sharia and Islamic Studies at Kuwait University, believes that the principle of dealing with animals is kindness and mercy, citing hadiths from the Prophetic Sunnah that confirm Islam’s care for animals. These include the story of the woman who gave water to a thirsty dog, which became a cause for God’s forgiveness, and the hadith warning against torturing or starving animals, clearly indicating that mercy to animals is a legal principle that cannot be ignored. However, as Al-Sharif clarifies, this principle does not mean leaving an animal if it becomes a source of harm to people. It is permissible to dispose of it using the method sufficient to repel its harm while choosing the least harmful means, so that dealing with it does not turn into torture or unnecessary injury. It may even reach killing it if repelling the harm is only possible that way, provided it is done out of necessity and without torture. Thus, Al-Sharif establishes a clear rule for dealing with stray dogs: Kindness is the principle, but human protection takes precedence when the danger is real, and disposing of the animal is permissible by the method that achieves the goal and repels harm, while adhering to non-torture.
**No Harm and No Reciprocal Harm**
From the same perspective, Sheikh Dr. Ahmed Hussein emphasizes that the responsibility for dealing with stray dog gatherings must fall on the relevant and specialized authorities, not on individual citizens’ interpretations, especially since these authorities have specialized teams trained to deal with animals that may be sick, aggressive, or dangerous to people. He believes the competent authority is best equipped to determine the level of risk and choose the appropriate method for each case, whether through sterilization to limit reproduction, vaccination and veterinary care, sheltering, or any other measure dictated by the nature of the case. If the animal poses a direct threat to the lives of citizens and residents, the assessment of how to deal with it returns to the competent authorities according to the law and prevailing regulations. Hussein confirms that the principle of "no harm and no reciprocal harm" is a key element in this matter; protecting human life from harm is a primary objective, and thus the call for animal welfare cannot become a reason to leave an existing danger threatening people. Conversely, human protection does not justify torturing animals or dealing with them by cruel means without necessity.
**A Message to Citizens**
The discussion extends to the behavior of some citizens who place food for stray dogs in front of homes out of mercy and compassion for the animal. Here, Hussein sends a clear message to citizens not to feed dogs in front of houses, as providing food in these places may attract more of them and form gatherings close to residents, increasing the probability of danger rather than being an individual act of mercy.
In the end, both opinions meet at a fundamental point: Mercy to animals does not contradict human protection, nor does human protection justify torturing animals. Between these two lies the responsibility of specialized authorities to assess the size of the risk, choose the appropriate method for each case, and work within an integrated plan that does not stop at dealing with dogs after they gather, but aims to limit their reproduction, spread, and sources of existence. Therefore, the issue is essentially not a choice between animal welfare and human safety, but searching for a system that achieves both, leaving it to specialized authorities to determine when sterilization, vaccination, or sheltering is sufficient, and when disposing of the animal becomes a necessity to avert real danger, done by the method that achieves the goal without torture.
**Dr. Obaid Al-Azmi Presents a Prescription for Safely Dealing with Stray and Wandering Dogs**
What should you do if you suddenly find yourself facing a stray dog? This seems like a basic question, but it repeats as the phenomenon expands and fears of dog attacks in residential areas and open roads increase. Amidst circulating advice and personal interpretations, scientific opinion remains a necessity to understand the behavior of these animals and know how to deal with them with the least possible risk. To identify the most prominent veterinary guidelines, we spoke with Dr. Obaid Zahir Al-Azmi, a veterinarian with long experience in the field, to provide a practical prescription for dealing with stray dogs and explain the reasons for their spread and the challenges facing control efforts.
Al-Azmi says the first thing to pay attention to when facing a stray dog is not to show fear or enter into direct confrontation. He clarifies that the dog may pick up tension signals from the person standing in front of it, and staring into its eyes may be understood as a challenge or threat, increasing the probability of escalation. Therefore, he advises avoiding direct eye contact with the dog and calmly moving away from the place without provoking it or making sudden movements.
**Safe Confrontation**
He adds that a person may not know if the dog they are facing is infected with rabies or suffers from a health or behavioral condition that drives it to aggression. Thus, caution and readiness to act correctly remain necessary, whether the dog is alone or in a group. He advises looking for the nearest safe or elevated place to take shelter, avoiding approaching or cornering the animal. Regarding the nature of the attack, Al-Azmi points out that the main source of danger lies in the dog’s jaws and teeth; therefore, protecting the body from bites and keeping the mouth away from injury sites is a priority during an attack. Injury can occur in moments, and its consequences can be serious if the victim does not receive appropriate medical care. He stresses the necessity of seeking medical help immediately after being bitten or even scratched, and not underestimating the injury however minor it may seem. The decision to administer vaccines or preventive serum is not made by the victim but is determined by the human doctor based on an assessment of the condition, the nature of the exposure, and approved medical procedures. He warns that rabies is a dangerous disease that can be fatal if not addressed with preventive treatment in a timely manner, emphasizing that quick referral to the hospital and correct medical handling are decisive factors in preventing complications.
**Missing Statistics**
Al-Azmi’s view does not stop at how to deal with the dog on the street; it extends to the most important question: Why do stray dog numbers constantly renew despite field campaigns and efforts by relevant authorities? Here, he points out that rapid reproduction is one of the most prominent challenges. He explains, by way of estimation and guidance rather than relying on official statistics, that a single female dog may give birth to about five or six puppies at a time and may give birth more than once during the year. Al-Azmi estimates that a single female dog may produce approximately one hundred puppies in a year under conditions of repeated reproduction, noting that some puppies may reach the reproduction stage at an early age, starting a new cycle of reproduction before the previous generation’s cycle stops. He confirms that this concept shows how numbers can increase rapidly, although actual figures vary depending on the dogs' ages, health and environmental conditions, and puppy survival rates. In this context, he believes that the absence of accurate official statistics makes it difficult to determine the scale of the phenomenon or measure campaign results objectively. Knowing the number of dogs, their gathering locations, and reproduction rates is not just theoretical information; it is the basis for determining the size of required teams, estimating needs for sterilization, vaccination, and shelter, and knowing whether current interventions are capable of limiting the renewal of numbers.
**Removing Fences**
Al-Azmi points out that Kuwait has a law regulating the breeding and ownership of dogs, but the basic challenge, in his view, is related to the extent of applying legislation and following up on responsibilities arising from possession. He also notes that changes in some building patterns and the removal of fences in many homes may facilitate dogs entering gardens and areas surrounding homes, adding a new challenge for residents and increasing the importance of preventive and protective measures.
Despite the size of the challenges, Al-Azmi appreciates the efforts of the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources, the Municipality, the Ministry of Interior, and other relevant authorities, confirming that these entities are making efforts in handling reports and field campaigns. However, the size and scope of the phenomenon make the task larger than the capacity of individual or temporary procedures to contain it. Hence, he highlights that controlling the phenomenon is not achieved merely by catching dogs on the streets, but requires comprehensive treatment combining limiting reproduction, veterinary handling, monitoring sources of animal spread, regulating possession, and providing shelter and care when needed. Any campaign not accompanied by measures preventing the renewal of numbers may find itself facing the same problem after a period.
Regarding external experiences, Al-Azmi expressed appreciation for the Bahraini experience and mentioned the Turkish experience, while noting the size of the challenges facing the handling of the phenomenon in large and densely populated countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia. This comparison opens the door to a question that goes beyond praising one experience or another: What have these countries actually achieved? What measures have proven their ability to reduce risks and limit reproduction? And can their models be utilized in Kuwait, considering differences in conditions and capabilities?
**Singapore: Sterilization First and Re-homing Where Possible**
Singapore adopted an integrated program for managing free-roaming dogs based on capture, sterilization, and re-homing or release with follow-up, alongside vaccination and microchip identification. The Animal and Veterinary Services Authority there states that approximately 80% of free-roaming dogs have been sterilized since the program’s launch, while more than 4,400 dogs have been handled, and more than 65% of them have been re-homed, sheltered, or cared for. The experience is based on lowering reproduction, not merely removing dogs from the streets.
**Bahrain: A New Program Combining Multiple Tools**
Bahrain is moving to manage the phenomenon through a national data-based program that includes capture, sterilization, vaccination, identification, sheltering, rehabilitation, and adoption or return depending on the case. The plan covers the four governorates with a 30-month contract. However, the experience is still new, so it is too early to describe it as successful or measure its final results. The most important aspect is that it treats the file as an integrated system, not just seasonal capture campaigns.
**Saudi Arabia: From Control to Veterinary Management**
Saudi Arabia has begun in recent years to adopt methods more dependent on capture, vaccination, neutering, and sterilization followed by release, rather than limiting itself to traditional control means. Specifically in Al-Ula, a specialized program for managing free-roaming animals leads the process of capture, sterilization, and vaccination followed by return, alongside an animal welfare center and facilities for shelter, awareness, and adoption. The experience aims to reduce the number of free-roaming animals, limit diseases, and protect the community and environment.
**Egypt: Large Numbers and a Greater Challenge**
Egypt deals with the phenomenon on a wide scale commensurate with its vast area and population. According to government data, during 2025, 121,000 dogs were vaccinated and 8,311 were sterilized in veterinary hospitals affiliated with relevant authorities, with an expansion in establishing shelters and sites for sheltering and providing units for transport and safe handling of animals. In 2026, vaccination and sterilization campaigns continued in cooperation with civil society. The experience reveals that the size of the problem makes controlling it a long process requiring resources, continuity, and wide coordination.
**Turkey
