Dogs are generally not treated well in Bangladesh, where the majority Muslim population holds a conservative approach to domesticating dogs. Here, kicking a resting or passing stray dog is often seen as amusing. This hostile attitude, for decades, justified the authorities culling stray dogs. In 2019, the passing of the Animal Welfare Act finally put […]

Dogs are generally not treated well in Bangladesh, where the majority Muslim population holds a conservative approach to domesticating dogs. Here, kicking a resting or passing stray dog is often seen as amusing. This hostile attitude, for decades, justified the authorities culling stray dogs. In 2019, the passing of the Animal Welfare Act finally put a stop to such institutional killing of dogs. Nevertheless, a deeply entrenched negative prejudice against dogs still persists. For instance, last year, a woman in the northwestern town of Ishwardi, who was disturbed by the neighborhood stray dogs, made the news by allegedly packing puppies in a sack and drowning them in a pond. The resulting public outcry forced authorities to file a criminal lawsuit against her. Bangladesh is home to nearly 1.7 million dogs — 83% of them strays, which suffer from hunger, malnutrition, injury, or cruelty by humans. Consequently, a group of animal lovers has emerged to put a stop to inhumane treatment of stray animals, advocating for their protection. Unlike other parts of the country, the people in the small town of Sarail, located about 95 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of the capital, Dhaka, have strived for generations to save a native dog breed named after the town: the Sarail hound. Proud of this heritage, some people in and around Sarail are trying to save this rare breed from extinction. Pet lovers, some from abroad, travel to Sarail in search of a puppy, ready to pay up to 60,000 takas ($500), according…This article was originally published on Mongabay

From Conservation news via This RSS Feed.