Insights into the scale, organisation, implementation and motivations behind dog culling in a rabies-endemic setting

Culling is recognised as ineffective and potentially counterproductive for sustainable dog population management and rabies control, yet the practice persists in many countries. Empirical data on the scale, organisation, implementation and motivations behind culling remain sparse, limiting understanding of its persistence, and implications. Focusing on Tanzania, a rabies-endemic country where culling has been documented, this study uses a mixed-methods approach, combining two structured surveys (survey of occurrence, n = 51; survey of practice in districts reporting culling, n = 16) and in-depth interviews with district and field-based veterinary and livestock officers (n = 8). Culling was reported in 45% of surveyed districts (23/51). Culling events were reportedly led by veterinary departments, often with involvement of other sectors and communities, with officers also describing communities as carrying out some culling independently. Culling was motivated by complaints, requests and orders about the number of and harms attributed to free-roaming dogs. Roaming dogs were culled regardless of ownership, sterilisation and vaccination status, using methods inconsistent with humane killing standards. Extrapolating from the survey data, using a stochastic simulation, we estimate approximately 26,000 dogs (95% CI 20,000-33,000) are culled annually nationwide. Culling was difficult to reconcile with evidence-based international guidance on dog population management and rabies control, national animal welfare legislation, and One Health principles, underscoring the need to understand and address the factors sustaining it. Addressing culling will require engaging with the wider concerns motivating the practice, and with the sectors and communities involved.