Killing dogs that are believed to be harmful
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Fatwa No. ( 16286 )
Praise be to Allah alone, and may peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. And after: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed what was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from the honorable judge of the Taburj court, No. (1926), dated 27/12/1412 AH, and referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars, No. (234), dated 13/1/1413 AH, accompanied by a letter from the honorable mayor of the Taburj municipality, the text of which is as follows: The municipality has, for some time, been following up on the elimination of dogs , which have become a source of harm to both humans and animals. Initially, the work was limited to dogs that are believed to be harmful. The municipality conducts intensive campaigns by placing poisoned meat in the areas where these dogs are found. Since among these animals are those whose harm is evident, and others that are not harmful, and this campaign, by spreading poisonous substances, targets the elimination of all without distinction due to the difficulty of doing so, we hope you will inform us of the Shari'ah ruling on what has been mentioned, and whether it is permissible to kill them in this manner. Based on your answer, the program to eliminate the phenomenon of dog proliferation will be renewed. In conclusion, may Allah guide you to what He loves and is pleased with. And peace be upon you. The letter was returned to the honorable judge, No. (198/2), dated 20/1/1413 AH, to form a committee of experts and trustworthy individuals, chosen by the honorable judge to ascertain the truth, identify the type of harm for which they are killed, address the lack of distinction between harmful and non-harmful dogs, and prepare a detailed report on the matter. Then, the response came in letter No. (973), dated 17/4/1413 AH, accompanied by the committee's report, the text of which is as follows: We inform your eminence that we have studied the matter, and it became clear to us from reality and from what we learned from some citizens in various areas, that there are dogs that cause harm, as follows: 1. Some dogs attack the animals that some citizens raise in their homes, despite them being in enclosures and behind fences. 2. Some dogs cause fear in the hearts of children, especially at night, and when going to pray 'Isha' and Fajr, as well as the elderly.
those that are not harmful, and this campaign, with the poisonous materials it broadcasts, targets the elimination of all of them without distinction, as that is difficult. Therefore, we hope you will inform us of the Shari'ah ruling regarding what has been mentioned, and whether it is permissible to kill them in this manner. Based on your answer, the program to eliminate the phenomenon of dog proliferation will be renewed. In conclusion, may Allah guide you to what He loves and is pleased with. And peace be upon you. The letter was returned to His Honor the Judge with number (198 \ 2) and date 20 \ 1 \ 1413 AH, to form a committee of experts and trustworthy individuals, chosen by His Honor the Judge to ascertain the truth, determine the type of harm for which they are to be killed, address the lack of distinction between harmful and non-harmful dogs, and prepare a detailed report on the matter. Then the response came in letter number (973) dated 17 \ 4 \ 1413 AH, accompanied by the committee's report, the text of which is as follows: We inform you that the subject has been studied by us, and it became clear to us from reality and from what we learned from some citizens in various areas, that there are dogs that cause harm, as follows: 1 - Some dogs attack the animals that some citizens raise in their homes, despite their being in enclosures and behind wire mesh. 2 - Some dogs cause fear in the hearts of children, especially at night, and when going to pray 'Isha' and Fajr, as well as the elderly.
3 - Rabies often spreads among dogs, and in that case, they cause harm to any citizen or animal they encounter, as has been established in past years. 4 - As for what we mentioned, it is in general terms, and as for what His Eminence the Grand President indicated regarding the lack of distinction between the harmful and the non-harmful, that is up to the citizen who reports the existence of harm from those dogs. We hope you will review this and take what you see fit. And success is from Allah.
After the committee studied it, they responded as follows:
Ibn Umar
Praise be to Allah alone, and may peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. And after: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed what was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from the honorable judge of the Taburj court, No. (1926), dated 27/12/1412 AH, and referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars, No. (234), dated 13/1/1413 AH, accompanied by a letter from the honorable mayor of the Taburj municipality, the text of which is as follows: The municipality has, for some time, been following up on the elimination of dogs , which have become a source of harm to both humans and animals. Initially, the work was limited to dogs that are believed to be harmful. The municipality conducts intensive campaigns by placing poisoned meat in the areas where these dogs are found. Since among these animals are those whose harm is evident, and others that are not harmful, and this campaign, by spreading poisonous substances, targets the elimination of all without distinction due to the difficulty of doing so, we hope you will inform us of the Shari'ah ruling on what has been mentioned, and whether it is permissible to kill them in this manner. Based on your answer, the program to eliminate the phenomenon of dog proliferation will be renewed. In conclusion, may Allah guide you to what He loves and is pleased with. And peace be upon you. The letter was returned to the honorable judge, No. (198/2), dated 20/1/1413 AH, to form a committee of experts and trustworthy individuals, chosen by the honorable judge to ascertain the truth, identify the type of harm for which they are killed, address the lack of distinction between harmful and non-harmful dogs, and prepare a detailed report on the matter. Then, the response came in letter No. (973), dated 17/4/1413 AH, accompanied by the committee's report, the text of which is as follows: We inform your eminence that we have studied the matter, and it became clear to us from reality and from what we learned from some citizens in various areas, that there are dogs that cause harm, as follows: 1. Some dogs attack the animals that some citizens raise in their homes, despite them being in enclosures and behind fences. 2. Some dogs cause fear in the hearts of children, especially at night, and when going to pray 'Isha' and Fajr, as well as the elderly.
those that are not harmful, and this campaign, with the poisonous materials it broadcasts, targets the elimination of all of them without distinction, as that is difficult. Therefore, we hope you will inform us of the Shari'ah ruling regarding what has been mentioned, and whether it is permissible to kill them in this manner. Based on your answer, the program to eliminate the phenomenon of dog proliferation will be renewed. In conclusion, may Allah guide you to what He loves and is pleased with. And peace be upon you. The letter was returned to His Honor the Judge with number (198 \ 2) and date 20 \ 1 \ 1413 AH, to form a committee of experts and trustworthy individuals, chosen by His Honor the Judge to ascertain the truth, determine the type of harm for which they are to be killed, address the lack of distinction between harmful and non-harmful dogs, and prepare a detailed report on the matter. Then the response came in letter number (973) dated 17 \ 4 \ 1413 AH, accompanied by the committee's report, the text of which is as follows: We inform you that the subject has been studied by us, and it became clear to us from reality and from what we learned from some citizens in various areas, that there are dogs that cause harm, as follows: 1 - Some dogs attack the animals that some citizens raise in their homes, despite their being in enclosures and behind wire mesh. 2 - Some dogs cause fear in the hearts of children, especially at night, and when going to pray 'Isha' and Fajr, as well as the elderly.
3 - Rabies often spreads among dogs, and in that case, they cause harm to any citizen or animal they encounter, as has been established in past years. 4 - As for what we mentioned, it is in general terms, and as for what His Eminence the Grand President indicated regarding the lack of distinction between the harmful and the non-harmful, that is up to the citizen who reports the existence of harm from those dogs. We hope you will review this and take what you see fit. And success is from Allah.
After the committee studied it, they responded as follows:
Ibn Umar
Five types of animals are to be killed in both the sacred and non-sacred areas: the crow, the kite, the scorpion, the rat, and the mad dog
خمس من الدواب يقتلن في الحل والحرم: الغراب والحدأة والعقرب والفأر والكلب العقور
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.