Thursday30 January 2025
nurtoday.com

$50 million for capture, $35 million for care: residents of Aktobe express concerns over the surge of stray dogs (video).

Residents of Aktobe are alarmed by the increasing number of stray dogs roaming the city. Meanwhile, millions of tenge have been allocated for capturing these four-legged animals, as reported by the KTK television channel website.
Актюбинцы обеспокоены нашествием бездомных собак: на отлов выделено 50 млн, а на содержание — 35 млн (видео).

Gulnaz Akimniyazova from Aktobe shared that the day before, her fourth-grade son was attacked by several dogs. Now, the woman is afraid to let him go out alone and always meets him after school, even though the educational institution is just a block away from their residential complex.

"This happened during lunchtime when he left school. Two dogs attacked him. One of them grabbed the sleeve of his jacket. Fortunately, it didn't manage to bite through. He started to fend them off with his spare shoe bag. A teacher passing by witnessed the whole incident and immediately put my son in her car," – said Gulnaz Akimniyazova.

The school reports that this is far from the first such incident. There are many construction sites around the school, and it is from there that stray dogs often run out, as noted by the educators. However, packs of dogs are also roaming in the city center, and their numbers are increasing. Officials believe this is a consequence of last year's floods.

"During the spring floods, many summer cottages were flooded. All victims were later given apartments in high-rise buildings. They abandoned their uninhabitable homes along with their pets. These dogs gave birth and multiplied. Now, due to the cold, they are all running into the city seeking food," – stated Shahidolla Rakhimov, head of the veterinary management department of Aktobe region.

Meanwhile, the akimat acknowledges that a multi-million program for the mass microchipping and sterilization of stray animals has practically had no effect on their numbers. Likewise, it seemingly hasn't impacted their aggression. In any case, according to official data, the launch of this program has not reduced the number of stray dogs and cats in the region. Complaints about attacks by four-legged animals also remain steady.

According to official statistics, since the beginning of January, the city veterinary station has received over a thousand complaints regarding aggressive stray dogs. All animals posing a threat to life and health are captured.

By the way, this year, over 50 million tenge has been allocated for the capture of stray animals in the region, around 35 million for their upkeep, and another 2.5 million for microchipping. However, residents do not feel any safer as a result.

Source: KTK

It is worth noting that last autumn, animal rights volunteers in Pavlodar complained about stray dogs that form packs and pose a serious danger to people.

Previously, in the village of Batyr in the Mangystau region, according to the herd owner, 40 goats were torn apart by stray dogs. The debt for the livestock has not yet been paid off, leaving the entire family without income, and the local residents without dairy products.

In March of this year, in the Almaty region, a pack of stray dogs attacked sheep when the shepherd took them out to graze. Shortly before that, the dogs had also attacked a child.

In December, we reported on the residents of the village of Kosagash in southern Kazakhstan. They claimed they were afraid to leave their homes due to issues with electricity, as wolves and stray dogs had been attacking the village.