Canine scare on Jordan’s streets divides public opinion

AMMAN — The issue of stray dogs has divided Jordanians into two camps: One highly supportive of animal rights, the other claiming freedom of movement is a basic human right impeded by the presence of wandering canines. 

Stray dogs are an ongoing problem, with frequent attacks forcing Jordanians to call on authorities to take quick and sustainable action to combat the phenomenon. 

A total of 5,138 people were bitten by dogs in 2022, Al Mamlaka TV reported. 

Videos of packs of dogs attacking people in populated areas of Jordan have been circulating on social media platforms. 

According to the Jordan Penal Code Article No. 472, animal cruelty is a punishable offense that can lead to imprisonment. 

Jordanians have launched a campaign on social media under the hashtag #AnimalRights. However, many are mocking the idea, suggesting that some care more about animal rights than human rights. 

“At a time when people are preoccupied with animal rights, few of us are paying attention to human rights,” Jordanian Abeer Darwazeh told The Jordan Times. 

Darwazeh added that freedom of movement, safety and health are rights granted by the Constitution. 

“Defending animal rights is absolutely a humane thing. However, not over human beings’ interests,” Darwazeh said. 

“I’m not saying animals should be killed. The issue should be contained through sterilising all stray animals, whether dogs or cats,” she added. 

Meanwhile, Shtoura Edwan, director of Animal Welfare at the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM), told The Jordan Times that GAM is committed to preventing animal cruelty and controlling the population of stray dogs through sterilisation.

“GAM is currently implementing the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme to control stray dogs,” Edwan added. 

GAM’s programme focuses on sterilising the stray dogs of Amman and controlling their population through humane and scientific methods, Edwan told The Jordan Times.  

“We should deal with this phenomenon with logic, not feelings. When children come across stray dogs, they don’t know how to act. Their instincts tell them to run away, which in turn stimulates dogs to run after them and bite them,” Ahmad Samarah, social media user posted on Twitter. 

Hussein Snafy posted on social media that he has been attacked by “herds of stray dogs five times”. 

“Thankfully, I handled the situation. However, you can only imagine children being followed by stray dogs, how they would react,” Snafy said. 

However, for Khaldun Qaisi, another social media user: “Humans pose a threat to dogs’ safety and existence, not vice versa.”