Turkmenistan Dog Catchers Assigned To Catch, Kill 7 Dogs Per Day: Report

Dog catchers in Turkmenistan's western Lebap province have been given daily quotas amid an ongoing animal extermination campaign, according to reports.

Those in the city of Turkmenabat have been assigned to catch and kill at least seven stray dogs every day, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported, citing locals.

However, as a result of the quotas, exterminators sometimes take away people's pets to reach their daily targets, according to several dog owners.

In one case, catchers took away a dog that was tied up outside a supermarket while the animal's owner was buying groceries, residents alleged.

Dog catchers have also been accused of using brutal methods and keeping animals in appalling conditions.

Supposed footage of one of the sweeps in Turkmenabat showed three animal control officers beating two screaming dogs with a rod before throwing the animals into the back of a garbage truck.

Another purported video of the operation in the city featured what appeared to be animal corpses inside dirty cages in dungeon-like premises.

The latest sweep in Turkmenabat came as the government adopted a new law that bans cruelty against animals on July 25.

This law prohibited causing injury or other serious harm to dogs and depriving them of food, water, sleep, rest or exercise.

It also banned the use of methods that cause dogs "unnecessary suffering when catching or regulating the number" of strays.

There are reportedly not many stray dogs or cats left on the streets of Turkmenabat, the second-largest city in Turkmenistan with around 250,000 residents.

Everyone in the city privately condemns how the dog-catching sweeps are being carried out, but they are too afraid to publicly criticize or argue with housing-management companies, according to residents.

Housing-management companies in Turkmenabat are responsible for hiring people to carry out dog and cat culling drives in their neighborhoods.

Housing managers are also responsible for giving certificates that allow residents to receive food in government stores.

Many people in Turkmenistan, which has been plagued by chronic food shortages and price hikes for at least five years, rely on subsidized food.

The country has been criticized for its long-standing practice of exterminating dogs and cats by poisoning them, beating them to death or killing them by refusing to give them water.

Municipal authorities often bribe local teenagers to give dogs and cats poisoned sausages or bread to kill the animals, human rights defenders claimed.

Authorities have also been accused of hiring children to aid in the culling efforts.