A REGISTERED SHELTER. A NOISE COMPLAINT. HUNDREDS DEAD DOGS

Feb 21 , 2026. By BEKALU ANTENEH ( FORTUNE STAFF WRITER. )

Officials at the Ministry of Agriculture adopted a national drive to eliminate human deaths from rabies by 2030, a disease that kills about 59,000 people globally each year. In Ethiopia, more than 2,700 people, 40 per cent of them women and children, are rabies victims, with estimated worldwide economic losses of 8.6 billion dollars and more than 210 mil-lion Br in direct and indirect losses nationally. In Addis Abeba, a campaign targets to vaccinate 70pc of almost two-thirds of stray dogs, while a city Commission oversees dog elimination operations, and veterinarians question how killings at legal shelters fit with the humane and legal standards officials say they support, reports BEKALU ANTENEH, FOR-TUNE STAFF WRITER.

On Friday, February 6, city officials and security personnel entered a dog shelter in Aqaqi Qality after a relocation order triggered by noise complaints, according to shelter managers. Within hours, the shelter said more than 120 dogs were put down, an allegation that has intensified scrutiny of Addis Abeba’s rabies-control campaign and the legality of its enforcement.

The raid came two days after an earlier visit. Representatives of the community and officials from the City Administration’s Farmers & Urban Agriculture Commission met with shelter managers following a noise complaint from nearby residents. The shelter was told to relocate within a week. Biruk claimed a request for more time was rejected. A written agreement committing the shelter to vacate within seven days was signed.

The shelter, Animal Welfare & Protection Shelter in Aqaqi Qality District, is registered as an NGO with no income and therefore no tax liability, and operates under a certification from the Civil Society Organisations Authority and a ministerial support letter. Officials from the Aqaqi Qality District and the Commission later confirmed existing laws explicitly cover clinics and pharmacies, but were unclear on shelters.

The non-profit holds certification from the federal Authority and a letter of support from the Ministry of Agriculture, authorising it to collect, treat, vaccinate and sterilise stray and vulnerable dogs.

According to Biruk Eshetu (DVM), the officials who arrived at the compound refused to examine the documents he presented. Biruk alleged that his staff's mobile phones were seized, and the security cameras were removed. More than 120 dogs were euthanised at the shelter.

It led for social media uproar, filled with angry reels and petitions from dog owners and animal-welfare advocates in Addis Abeba. More posts followed reports of dogs being put down with injections in private homes and neighbourhood compounds, measures city officials say are part of efforts to prevent disease. What began as scattered incidents has grown into a wider argument over legality, oversight and public health.

According to Bemnet Wondimagegn (DVM), the shelter’s veterinarian, the animals were fully vaccinated and healthy. Some of the dogs euthanised, he added, had completed documentation for international adoption.

“Except for five dogs undergoing surgery, all were sterilised and unable to reproduce,” he said.

For founder Hanna Asefa, the events cut through years of personal commitment. She traced the shelter’s origins to her childhood.

“When I was a child, I saw dogs being harmed by people, and when I grew up, I decided I had to do something for them,” she said. “It’s my civic duty."

The shelter takes in injured, blind and homeless dogs, provides treatment and seeks to place them in legal adoptions abroad.

“Laws are made about animal welfare, but no one implements them," said Hana.

The Shelter has spent millions of Birr but is now left with no dogs, and its founder is unsure whether she will be able to continue the work.

“What we want from the government is recognition and cooperation,” Hana told Fortune.

The compound that once echoed with barking and movement sat quietly last week. Staff, stripped of the animals they cared for, say they are unsure what comes next.

The controversy reached beyond a personal home. In Aqaqi Qality District, Wereda 6, dog owner Henok Getachew believes his household was also targeted. After watching a football match and putting his children to bed, he heard a knock at his gate around 8:00pm.

“They came in and asked me how many dogs I had," he recalled.

The father of two cares for 10 dogs, and has been an advocate for dogs for 14 years. He presented medical records and mentioned laws governing rabies control, but the local officials did not respond to his arguments. A day earlier, the head of the District 6 Urban Agriculture Office had visited to confirm the presence of dogs at his home.

"They told me they had come to kill them," he said. “I feel empty, and my children are traumatised.”

Henok questioned whether he could continue keeping animals without local officials' acknowledgement. Vaccinations and treatments cost up to 3,500 Br a dog, and feed prices add further strain. He argued that dog ownership and related services have created jobs for young people and that mass killing carries social and financial costs that go beyond disease control.

Dog adoption is legal. The process involves submitting full records to the receiving country’s Ministry of Agriculture for verification before import approval. Henok recalled bringing a dog from Romania six years ago, paying 1,650 euros in airline fees and about 4,000 euros to buy the animal, a total of 5,650 euros. Since then, with foreign exchange pressures, costs have risen sharply. Airline fees alone can now reach 66,000 Br for dogs under 14Kg, with larger animals charged based on crate size.

Others tell similar stories. Feven Melese, founder of the “Animals Need Attention” movement and an advocate for five years.

“Had my dog been killed on claims of maintaining the peace of the community," she said. "It would not be fair to me because I'm also part of the community."

Her approach focuses on vaccination and sterilisation rather than killing. Feven would want to see marking vaccinated dogs, as she saw practised in Turkey, to increase public awareness and reduce violence against animals.

At the Ministry of Agriculture, the episode is viewed in the context of a broader public health strategy.

According to Wendu Mengesha (DVM), a coordinator of a national rabies prevention and control program, Ethiopia has adopted a global strategy to eradicate human deaths from rabies by 2030. Since 2022, the World Health Organisation (WHO), the World Organisation for Animal Health, the Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Global Alliance for Rabies Control have worked together on this plan. Ethiopian authorities have refined it for national use.

Rabies is preventable through vaccination, but fatal if untreated. Globally, rabies kills about 59,000 people each year. In Ethiopia, more than 2,700 people, mostly women and children accounting for 40pc, are rabies victims. Rabies is believed to cause economic losses of 8.6 billion dollars worldwide each year, with Ethiopia losing more than 210 million Br directly and indirectly.

“We don't give priority to putting down, but to treating before anything else,” Wendu said.

In Addis Abeba, a campaign is targeting to vaccinate 70pc of the city’s nearly 350,000 dogs. Close to two-thirds of the dogs are strays, making vaccine coverage difficult to achieve.

The City's Commission, which reports to the Mayor’s Office, oversees dog elimination operations.

"Any actions that diverge from the national strategy are unacceptable," Wendu told Fortune. "Legal shelters should continue to operate in coordination with the authorities. Improper methods are not acceptable."

Officials from the Addis Abeba City Administration’s Farmers & Urban Agriculture Commission and the Aqaqi Qality District Farmers & Urban Agriculture Bureau declined to comment despite repeated efforts.

Wendu insisted that when euthanasia is deemed necessary, it should follow humane procedures. However, his Ministry has not received formal legal complaints over the recent incidents.

“We've seen the issue on social media like anyone else," he said. "Any person with legal evidence can file a complaint and will receive a legal response.”

He observed that many people who sell dogs operate without licences and remain largely anonymous. Stronger communication with authorities, he argued, could prevent similar disputes.

Private practitioners, such as Segni Ambaw (DVM), who has worked as a veterinarian for 18 years, question how the killings have been carried out.

"Killing healthy dogs in a legal shelter is inappropriate," he told Fortune. "Humane euthanasia standards must be respected."

Segni noted that no law sets a limit on the number of dogs an individual may own and raised doubts over whether existing business laws clearly address commercial dog sales.

“The government should examine its policies,” he said, calling for clearer legal frameworks and rejecting cruel methods.

Between distressed owners, a closed shelter and officials under pressure to contain a deadly disease, the city’s dog policy now sits at the intersection of public health, law and ethics. For those who lost animals, like Henok, the debate is not abstract. It is measured in empty compounds, traumatised children and a silence where barking once filled the air.

PUBLISHED ON Feb 21,2026 [ VOL 26 , NO 1347]