News > Culture > Ethiopia Takes a Cue from Michael Vick

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WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2007 4:00 PM

Ethiopia Takes a Cue from Michael Vick

Submitted by Rahodeb

Edited by Rahodeb

Riddle me this: If dogs are "creatures of Allah," why does the Muslim faith forbid keeping one? Better yet, why are Ethiopian authorities in Addis Ababa planning to kill tens of thousands of stray dogs using strychnine-laced meat? If you answered, "Because they follow the Coptic calendar, which is about seven years behind the more common Gregorian, and they want to eradicate rabies before next week's celebration of the millennium," you'd be right.

Apparently, the Ethiopian, Coptic millenium celebrations are expected to be a huge tourist draw. A $20 million hall is being built for the occasion, and the Black Eyed Peas are scheduled to perform.

Efrem Legese, president of the Homeless Animals Protection Society, said he has written letters to Addis Ababa Mayor Berhane Deressa and to Vice Prime Minister Addisu Legesse, begging them to stop the plans to kill the dogs with meat laced with strychnine, a cheap and powerful poison often used to kill rats.

"It's painful," Efrem said. "They suffer a lot."

He proposes that authorities sterilize street dogs and those with rabies or chronic conditions be killed using Phenobarbital, a seizure medication that usually takes away consciousness before causing death.

Oh, I don't know, Efrem. I think starting the new millenium with the suffering and blood of tens of thousands of creatures of Allah on your hands sounds like a great idea.

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Comments

BDeyeD

Toronto, ON

January 2007

SEP 06, 2007 11:04 AM

..... I got nothin'...

Jimbo

Austin, TX

August 2003

SEP 06, 2007 11:15 AM

hm..

threadless

I'm lost

October 2005

SEP 06, 2007 01:06 PM

People bitten by mad dogs suffer more... There is no cure for rabies.

Shal

Los Angeles, CA

October 2002

SEP 06, 2007 01:22 PM

Rafi

Santa Monica, CA

January 2003

SEP 06, 2007 01:50 PM

FYI, Ethiopia is and has historically been a predominantly Christian country. Orthodoxed Christians are especially concentrated in the capital Addis Ababa (82%), and the Coptic calendar is used by the Coptic Orthodox Christian Church.

Thus it's almost certain the the Ethiopian authorities named in the article (being that they are centered in Addis and celebrating the Coptic millennium) are Christian. So I'm not sure how relevant the "creatures of Allah" bit in the piece is, since it implies that Muslims are the ones planning the mass dog killings. As far as I can figure, the only connection to Muslims in the actual article is the mentioned quote from the Islamic girl who is arguing that the dogs shouldn't[/] be killed because they are creatures of Allah.

PaulNikon

Palm Bay, FL

February 2003

SEP 06, 2007 02:56 PM

Why don't they eat the dogs?

MessyJessy

Fort Myers, FL

August 2005

SEP 06, 2007 02:57 PM

frouthc

Montreal, QC

July 2004

SEP 06, 2007 03:15 PM

Ethiopia is not a muslim country at all.
Still sad for the dogs though, but if you ever been to Ethiopia, you would know that those dogs are not friendly at all. They are scary and lots of them have rabies.

Emi

SUICIDEGIRL

USA

SEP 06, 2007 03:15 PM

um what happened to getting rid of just those with rabies...

Archaneus

Kalamazoo, MI

October 2006

SEP 06, 2007 03:25 PM

Emi said:
um what happened to getting rid of just those with rabies...

Try figuring out which ones those are. I think it's ridiculous to kill thousands of animals on the off chance that there could be some sort of problem with them but the real shock here is that I haven't heard PETA or someone else bitching up a storm about this yet. I would think they would have already been pushing the media on this one since it is just the type of thing they love to sink their fangs into.