Monday, October 20, 2008

Treatment of cats and dogs in Mongolia

Peace Corps Mongolia has an interesting, albeit disturbing blog post about how domestic animals are treated in Mongolia. Here is an excerpt from the more disturbing part:
Speaking of killing dogs… in the bitter Mongolian winter, all stray dogs are killed. There are many reasons for killing off the street dogs. One reason is safety. A pack of hungry dogs sometimes will go after small children to eat. Another reason is for population control. I can’t imagine how many more stray dogs there would be if the majority weren’t killed off every winter.



How are the stray dogs killed off? Many people in the West would think that many of these are inhumane, but I’ll tell you anyway. Sometimes the poison is put in the trash dumpsters, so that the dogs will eat the poison. Sometimes dogs are clubbed to death. But the most extreme way I’ve heard to kill a dog: Let jailed prisoners out for the day. Give them guns. Let the prisoners walk around town shooting all of the stray dogs. You may think I’m joking, but I’m not.

3 comments:

d-wain said...

1) The poisoning is something that has happened in Greece, too.

2) The clubbing is definitely harsh. In fact, it's actually not possible for me to think of it without shuddering. How cultural is the pathos we have for animals?

3) Inmates + guns = .... Whose brainiac idea was that? "Excuse me, I'm going to need to get that back from you now."

Which of the above would best serve an overpopulated country?

Christopher said...

Apparently they announce the "inmates with guns" days in advance so you can lock up your personal pets. I plan to lock myself in my apartment on those days.

Ken L said...

What would Bob Barker say? "Help control the pet population. If you see a stray dog or cat, be sure to club it to death. This is Bob Barker for the Price is Right!"