Twenty-nine dogs were shot dead by a group of armed men at a local factory in Qatar. The incident has sparked outrage and a debate has started on social media
The attackers claimed that dogs had bitten their sons. PAWS animal rescue centre on Sunday said that the group stormed the factory, shot the 29 dogs and injured several others, Doha News reported.
Qatar authorities have not yet commented on the incident. Sheikha Al Mayasa bint Hamad Al Thani, the sister of Qatar’s ruling Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, has criticised the attack and called it “unacceptable” in an Instagram post. The armed men threatened the security guards of the factory and forced their way inside, local media reported.
“Security team was rightfully scared as two of the men were holding guns. The security team tried to stop the men from shooting a group of beautiful friendly neutered dogs, but they realised that they were also putting themselves in danger also,” the animal rescue centre said in an Instagram post. The dogs and puppies were shot in front of the security team. The rescue shelter mentioned that one puppy is fighting for his life at the vet, it added.
Roni Helou, an animal rights sustainability brand, condemned the incident and called it a “barbaric act and threat to Qatari society.” It urged the government to probe the incident and hold the group responsible. “The people who blatantly killed all dogs have to be put in jail, disregarding their nationality. Whoever can kill an animal without a blink of an eye, can easily kill a human being,” the brand said in a comment.
Meanwhile, netizens were worried about the gun laws in the country and asked why the citizens could own guns. According to Qatar’s law, a person can own a firearm after obtaining a license from the interior ministry. It is rare for expats to obtain the gun license unless they are a part of the special forces or the military.
A person can be fined QAR 1,000 to QAR 50,000 for possession of an unlicensed firearm and might get sentenced to prison for one to seven years depending on the type of the firearm. Similar incidents of animal abuse have also been reported in the country.
Last year, a cat was killed by hanging by an unknown individual. A picture of the incident was shared by an animal welfare advocate in Doha.
