More than 240 people have been bitten by a stray dog in the town of Deir Alla, Balqa, since the beginning of the current year, according to Dr. Hamdan Al Maadat, Assistant Director of Al Balqa Health Directorate.

Maadat said that treating the persons who were bitten by stray dogs is very costly for the Ministry of Health.

After numerous complaints from the town’s concerned and terrified residents, including those who have been bitten, a campaign was launched by the Mayor of Deir Alla to wipe out the dangerous dogs from the area.

On Tuesday, the local municipality left out poisoned meat in the areas where these dogs tend to gather, Mayor Mustafa Al Shatti told us over the phone on Wednesday.

Al Shatti argued that “the number of dogs in Deir Alla is almost the same as that of its sheep, that's at least 1000 of them.”

When we asked him about the possibility of other animals feeding on the poisoned meat, Al Shatti’s response was that “we put this food out for the dogs and ‘inshallah’ (God willing) only they will eat it.”

Killing these dogs isn’t the answer, said one local animal activist, who asked to remain anonymous.

“Poisoning these dogs will make them suffer more than if they (the municipality) were to directly kill them. This isn’t the solution to the problem; the government should build shelters to contain these dogs instead,” said the activist, who works for Mercy for Animal Welfare.

She added that “when people throw things at these dogs, their natural reaction is to defend themselves; that’s why I think the government should raise awareness on how to treat strays instead of killing them.”

The activist warned that getting rid of stray dogs will increase the number of snakes and rats in the area, which are eaten by the canines.

Nonetheless, Al Shatti declared his campaign a “war on dogs,” after revealing that treating patients from one dog bite costs hospitals 150 JOD ($211) per person.