There are approximately 375 million stray dogs worldwide. They spread diseases (e.g., rabies: 55,000 deaths per year) and cause nuisance. Each year, about 20 million are killed in horrific ways in an attempt to reduce the number of dogs. However, this is not an effective method to combat the surplus because the dead dogs are immediately replaced by new dogs.

There are proven methods to reduce the number of stray dogs. The most important is sterilization and castration (along with vaccination against rabies). Additionally, registration is of great importance, developing legislation against cruelty to animals, education, and waste removal.

Unfortunately, in many poor countries, there is a lack of money and knowledge to implement the above methods, which allows the killing of dogs to continue.