Though authorities have not disclosed the cats and dogs's destinations, many Egyptians have assumed they would be sent to countries with a poor animal rights records and a reputation for eating them.
MIDDLE EAST EYE: ‘For years Egypt has exported cotton, grain and natural gas. Now, it appears, the country will be exporting cats and dogs, too… Now the Egyptian agriculture ministry confirmed that it had recently licensed the export of 4,100 cats and dogs to a number of countries. The news has been met with grave concern by animal rights activists, who say they are worried that the creatures will be sent to countries where they may be eaten and mistreated. In September and October, licenses to export 2,400 cats and 1,700 dogs from different breeds were granted, according to the General Authority for Veterinary Services (GAVS)…
This is the first time Egypt has exported dogs and cats, according to Hamed Abdeldayem, an agriculture ministry spokesman. The dogs and cats were mainly “taken from the streets” but have been vaccinated and given a medical certificate from the Animal Health Institute saying they are free from any disease, before being exported, Abdeldayem said… Officials have not given specific reasons why the animals were now being exported, though Egypt has long complained of the number of stray dogs and cats in the country. Last month, a study reported that as many as 22 million stray dogs were on the loose in Egypt.
Though authorities have not disclosed the cats and dogs’s destinations, many Egyptians have assumed they would be sent to countries with a poor animal rights records and a reputation for eating them… The export licenses come a month after the deputy chairperson of the parliamentary human rights committee, MP Margaret Azer, called for stray dogs to be sent to countries where people are known to eat them, like South Korea… Around one million dogs are eaten in South Korea every year…
But the news of the exportations has sparked outrage amid animal rights campaigners… One animal rights supporter tweeted: “Please do not allow these helpless innocents to be exported. To do so would be to send them to countries that brutally torture and consume them… Mona Khalil, head of the Egyptian Society for Mercy to Animals, condemned Azer’s proposal as contrary to animal rights and Islamic teachings, and said the economy could be financed by other means. “The GAVS is the first killer of animals in the streets,” she told DMC channel, lashing out at the animal authority’s policy of poisoning strays as a way of eliminating them’. SOURCE…
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