Hossana residents forced to kill their own dogs after Ethiopia rabies deaths

Rabies is a serious disease which humans usually catch from the bite or scratch of an infected animal, such as a dog.

It is almost always fatal once symptoms appear in humans, but treatment administered before this point can be successful.

Unvaccinated dogs, in most cases, cannot survive the disease as there is no treatment for animals. Therefore, dogs across the world are usually put down if they are known to have rabies.

Samuel said local police and security forces stopped the dog killings “within a day”.

However, Feven Kebede, who runs an animal rights organisation in the capital, Addis Ababa, and has been receiving reports from Hossana, says that although the mass killings have stopped, individuals are still “going door to door asking people to get rid of unvaccinated dogs”. Alaazar also said the killings were continuing.

Along with the threat of being arrested, dog owners were also told they would be fined 50,000 birr ($300; £225) if they did not put their animals down, one resident told the BBC.

Samuel said he had ordered the police to investigate the killings, while Feven called for the authorities to take swift action.

“The local government bodies say that they did not do it and did not give the order. If not, they should hold the criminals accountable,” she said.