Strychnine Poisoning

"Our dog ran into the house, desperate, probably hoping we could help her," a soldier recalled, his voice shaking with emotion. "She was in such pain, she couldn't stop. She ran through the house and out the back door. We never saw her alive again. How can I teach my son the importance of living by positive values when he sees the authorities routinely strychnine poisoning people's companion animals?"

"I'll never have another dog in my home," affirmed a mother. "I can't ever again watch what my children went through when they came home from school and found our beloved dog poisoned on our front lawn. It was horrible."

— Families in Israel whose dogs were poisoned, speaking out on an early CHAI video

An estimate by a government source puts the number of strychnine pellets provided to municipal veterinarians annually at 30,000–40,000, with two pellets per dog the usual dose. Companion animals, as well as strays, suffer and die from the cruel poison set out in baits, which remain potent for years. Improperly disposed of doses, and doses workers fail to pick up when they are left uneaten, cause slow, painful death to other animals.

Background

CHAI has worked since its inception in 1984 to replace the mass strychnine poisonings of animals in Israel with humane measures. CHAI imported sodium pentobarbital to replace use of the poison at municipal pounds; provided letters from veterinary pathologists around the world to the Supreme Court, stating that the strychnine-like poison used on cats, alpha chloralose (tardemon), is inhumane; and encouraged vets from outside Israel to condemn the poisonings, including at an international veterinary conference held in Jerusalem.

CHAI and Hakol Chai Join Forces with the Government of Israel

As a result of a July 2003 conference co-sponsored by CHAI, Hakol Chai, and Israel's Ministries of Health, Environment, and Agriculture, the Veterinary Services Division of the Ministry of Agriculture has agreed to replace the slow, painful strychnine poisonings of animals with humane animal capture and control measures. This is the first time the Veterinary Services has joined forces with an animal protection charity to improve the treatment of animals. Read about our conference.

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