Dogs are being poisoned in a misguided effort to control rabies.

Ethiopia's third millennium begins at midnight on Tuesday, September 11. But as the residents of Addis Ababa are getting ready to celebrate, government officials are discreetly poisoning the city's street dogs.

HSI sent letters to the Ethiopian Ambassador to the United States and the Mayor of Addis Ababa, protesting this poisoning campaign and urging them to call on the government to work with local animal protection groups to find humane alternatives.

Poison causes extreme suffering to animals who ingest it. It is also a serious threat to local wildlife, pets and children.

Ethiopian officials have stated that the poisoning is part of a plan to rid the city of rabies in the coming year. Several media reports quote City Administrator Tafa Hunde as saying, "We want rabies to be history by the next millennium." But this method of killing and disposing of streets dogs is a knee-jerk reaction and will only provide a "band-aid" solution to dealing with rabies and overpopulation. When mass killings take place, dogs reproduce even more quickly to fill in the gaps.

The World Health Organization has stated, "There is no evidence that removal of dogs has ever had a significant impact on dog population densities or the spread of rabies. ... Three practical methods of dog population management are recognized: movement restriction, habitat control and reproduction control."

HSI will continue to pressure the Ethiopian government to cease poisoning street dogs, and offer our advice on making Addis Ababa more humane.