By Hou Akot Hou
At least 40 stray dogs were killed in Aweil North County, Northern Bahr El Ghazal State of South Sudan, on Thursday.
The street dogs were hunted by the police in the market at Gokmachar.
Commissioner of Aweil North County, Mr. Kiir Chan Wol, said the dogs were killed in a bid to curtail issues of dog bites that had intensified recently.
The move was initiated after the public was asked to vaccinate their dogs, but some individuals with deaf ears failed to comply.
“We as authorities have been asking the public to vaccinate their dogs, but they never accept our call,” he said. “So, all dogs that we find loitering in the market are what we have been targeting. So, we managed to kill 40 of them,” he noted.
Garang Wol Dut, one of the residents whose child was bitten last month, welcomed the move and thanked the authorities for cleansing the town of the stray dogs.
“My child was bitten by a dog, and it cost me a lot of money to get him treated,” said Wol.
“I managed to go to Aweil Town, where I got the anti-rabies vaccines in the pharmacy. So, I sold away the heifer to get him treated. The move by the authorities to kill the dogs without owners is much better,” he added.