Country Profile
Monitoring developments relating to free-roaming dog management in Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan continues to use lethal control as part of its response to free-roaming dogs and rabies.
In Bishkek, thousands of dogs are caught and shot each year by the municipal enterprise Tazalyk. Reported figures show 14,378 dogs were caught and shot in 2024 and 16,588 in 2025.
The practice is not confined to the capital.
Public procurement records show municipalities in different parts of Kyrgyzstan purchasing services for the shooting of stray dogs. Some contracts provide for repeated operations throughout the year, including weekly or fortnightly shooting across multiple communities.
At the same time, a different approach is already operating within Kyrgyzstan. In Kant, dogs are being captured, sterilised, vaccinated against rabies, identified and, where appropriate, returned.
This creates a significant divide in the country’s approach to dog population management.
Kyrgyzstan is therefore classified as a Crisis Zone on the Global Stray Dog Crisis Map while Dog Desk Animal Action monitors the continued use of lethal control, the development of sterilisation and vaccination programmes, rabies prevention, legislative reform and whether humane population-management models can replace routine killing.
KYRGYZSTAN: KILLING DOGS WITHOUT SOLVING THE PROBLEM
Briefing Paper 1 September 2026
Shooting, Rabies, Sterilisation And The Search For A Humane National System
Kyrgyzstan’s response to free-roaming dogs presents two very different models.
Our first Kyrgyzstan briefing paper examines the continued shooting of dogs in Bishkek, municipal procurement for lethal dog-control operations elsewhere in the country, rabies prevention and the development of sterilisation, vaccination and identification programmes.
It also examines Kant, where a capture, sterilisation, vaccination, identification and return programme demonstrates that a different approach is already possible within Kyrgyzstan.
At the centre of the paper is one question:
If killing thousands of dogs year after year does not solve the population problem, why does lethal control continue?
WHY WE ARE MONITORING KYRGYZSTAN
Kyrgyzstan has a genuine responsibility to protect people and animals from rabies and to manage free-roaming dog populations.
But killing dogs and managing a dog population are not the same thing.
Sustainable population management requires authorities to address reproduction, vaccination, abandonment, responsible ownership, identification and the continuing sources of dogs entering the free-roaming population.
Kyrgyzstan already has experience of an alternative based on sterilisation, vaccination and identification.
The question now is whether that approach can become the foundation of a wider transition away from repeated lethal control.
Sources & References
The Kyrgyzstan Country Profile and associated briefing papers are based on a combination of legislation, government and municipal information, public procurement records, official public-health and animal-health information, published reporting and other publicly available material relating to free-roaming dog management in Kyrgyzstan.
Information is assessed alongside developments documented through the Global Stray Dog Crisis Map Project.
Evidence Types Considered
- National and municipal legislation and regulations
- Central and local government information
- Municipal decisions and programme information
- Public procurement and contracting records
- Official animal-health and public-health data
- WHO and WOAH information and guidance
- Published news reports
- Public statements
- Animal welfare reporting and documentation
Important Note
Dog Desk Animal Action does not conduct law enforcement investigations and cannot independently verify every reported incident or claim.
Where information originates from media reporting, animal welfare organisations, campaigners or other third parties, it is presented within that context.
The purpose of the Kyrgyzstan Country Profile is to document developments in free-roaming dog management, examine how population-control and rabies-prevention policies are being implemented and identify emerging issues relating to animal welfare, public health, sterilisation, vaccination, lethal control, transparency and accountability.
Seeking Clarification From Authorities
Dog Desk Animal Action contacts relevant authorities where developments in Kyrgyzstan raise questions requiring clarification, evidence or further information.