Wild animals, birds persih after TMA throws poisoned stray dogs in the open

BOONI, March 25: Due to the criminal negligence of the Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) Mastuj, a large number of wild animals and birds have perished after consuming the carcasses of stray dogs poisoned to death and thrown in the open at Kagh Lasht near Booni.

Syed Muzaffar Hussain, a paraglider and social worker of Booni, while talking to this correspondent said the TMA killed stray dogs by giving them poison. After killing the dogs, the TMA officials transported their carcasses to Kagh Lasht and dumped them in the open in the green pasture. Within hours, wild animals such as wolves, jackals and vultures landed on them and ate it.

These poisonous carcasses of the stray dogs are still lying in the pasture. After eating their meat, a large number of animals have died. Wild birds also consumed the poisonous meat and then these birds were hunted by eagles, as a result, these precious eagles also died. This correspondent visited the area and saw the dead dogs dumped in the open and the resultant death to other wild animals and birds. The residents of Booni and nearby areas criticized the criminal negligence and unprofessional way of disposing of the carcasses of the stray dogs. They also alleged that in the past the TMA used to dump the carcasses of the dog into the Chitral river contaminating its river. In this connection, when assistant commissioner subdivision Mastuj Minhasuddin was contacted to know his version about the negligence of the TMA, which works under his subordination, he refused to comment. 

Inayatullah, an official of the TMA, could not justify the apathy of the TMA.  He only said they had already buried the dead dogs after killing them. Asadullah Khan of Reshun, a social worker, showed this correspondent the carcasses of the precious eagles who he added had also died after eating the meat of the poisonous dogs. When contacted, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Wildlife Imtiaz Hussain expressed his concerns over the unprofessional way of disposing of the dog carcasses.

Zaheerud Din Babar, the general secretary of Chitral Paragliders Association, said: “We use the ground of Qagh Lasht for paragliding but the TMA put the dead dogs and polluted this pleasant environment.  It is causing different infectious diseases.” He said local people also used the pasture for grazing their cattle and the poisonous carcasses of dogs could be harmful of the cattle too.