Allegations of dog culling have sparked outrage among Gopalganj residents, who claim that the municipality has begun a campaign to kill stray dogs.

According to them, municipal workers caught dogs with nets early in the morning and at night, injected them with poison, and took the bodies away in small garbage trucks.

However, the municipality has categorically denied any involvement and claimed it was unaware of such incidents. The District Livestock Department also said it was not aware of any such activity.

Speaking to this correspondent today, Rabiul Islam, a resident of Nabinbagh under Gopalganj municipality, said, "On Monday, I left home early to travel to Dhaka. In front of the Sadar Hospital, I saw some municipal workers catching dogs with nets and killing them with injections. Some officials from the municipality and the deputy commissioner's office were present there.

"Later, the dead dogs were taken away in a municipal garbage truck. I recorded the incident on my phone and posted the photo and video on my Facebook profile."

Another witness, who requested anonymity, said, "On Thursday [October 16], around 7:30 pm, municipality workers caught two dogs in front of Gopalganj SM Government High School. After trapping them with nets, they killed the dogs by injecting poison."

Contacted, Gopalganj Municipality Administrator Bishwajit Kumar Pal said, "The municipality has not taken any initiative to kill dogs."

However, many residents have complained about the increasing number of stray dogs in town. The matter has been discussed several times at District Law and Order Committee meetings.

"We are currently exploring humane ways to relocate the dogs without causing public suffering," Bishwajit said.

He added, "We're consulting the District Livestock Officer and the Civil Surgeon. Any future action will strictly follow legal procedures. The photos circulating on social media are being verified to determine whether they are misleading or fabricated. We are considering forming an investigation committee to look into the matter."

District Livestock Officer of Gopalganj, Dr Gobinda Chandra Sardar, told The Daily Star, "According to government regulations, killing dogs is completely prohibited. If any organisation is involved in such acts, it will be held accountable.

"Only in special circumstances -- such as when a dog is infected with rabies and poses a threat to humans or other animals -- can necessary measures be taken. Generally, to prevent rabies, we conduct regular vaccination programmes for dogs."

Meanwhile, Rubaiya Ahmad, founder of Obhoyaronno Animal Welfare Foundation, one of the country's leading animal welfare organisations, told this newspaper, "We've spoken to the executive officer of Gopalganj municipality, who confirmed that this act was not carried out by them, but by an outsider. While he said they were unaware of the situation and expressed concern, we still demand a thorough investigation and due accountability."

She added that under the Animal Welfare Act, 2019, both culling and relocation of free-roaming dogs are prohibited.

In a letter sent to the Department of Fisheries and Livestock, the foundation urged the government to immediately halt all dog culling activities across the country and instead implement sterilisation and vaccination-based population control programmes.

Citing the allegations in Gopalganj and Tangail, it said such actions not only violate the law but also risk reversing national progress towards rabies eradication. The letter referenced WHO, OIE, and FAO guidelines, which deem mass culling neither scientific nor ethical, and reaffirmed Bangladesh's commitment under the "Zero by 2030" global rabies elimination plan.

Obhoyaronno called on the ministry to issue directives to all city corporations, municipalities, and union parishads to adopt humane CNVR (Catch--Neuter--Vaccinate--Release) methods, which it said ensure sustainable, lawful, and compassionate population management in line with the SDGs.