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Officials in Iraq have released a report today, which says the number of stray dogs that have been killed since 2008, in an attempt to stop a series of attacks within and around the city of Baghdad, RAW reports.
The killings are a part of a campaign that started in 2008, after increasing reports of dog attacks began to come in from local citizens and soldiers.
With Baghdad slowly returning to normal, and open markets becoming more common, there is more food left around the city.
There is also more food left in garbage heaps outside of the capital. This means better meals for stray dogs, which leads to them gaining health and having larger litters.
This has had a marked effect on the amount of strays around Baghdad, with tens of thousands causing havoc all over the city.
The campaign is carried out by security teams made of veterinarians and police officers, who correlate with other security forces in the area.
They sweep the city in the early morning, using poisoned meet to lure and kill stray dogs, warning civilians to stay away from the food left for the animals.
This is similar to the shootings that occurred under Saddam Hussein’s reign, which was mandatory part of security in Iraq.