A Geographical Analysis of the Impact of Stray Dog Populations on the Environment and Public Health in the City of Ramadi (A Field Study)

Abstract

The city is a vital urban environment for its inhabitants, providing them with comfort, security, and opportunities to work in various economic activities. Services of all kinds are available, according to their importance. However, the presence of disturbing phenomena affects, in one way or another, the continuation of life in the city in a healthy manner, such as the spread of stray dogs in the streets and residential neighborhoods. This is the case in the city of Ramadi, a phenomenon that has recently increased significantly in the city's streets. This research aims to identify the areas where dogs are most prevalent, the spatial relationship between the geographical distribution of dogs and the climatic, environmental, and human factors affecting them, and the negative effects of the spread of stray dogs in the streets and residential neighborhoods of Ramadi. These effects cause annoyance and fear among the city's residents and impact the city's environment by disrupting the ecological balance and distorting the urban landscape. They also pose a threat to public health due to people being exposed to dog bites, which transmit diseases. (75)% of the respondents confirmed the danger of dogs transmitting infectious diseases. The research concluded that there is a variation in the spread of dogs within the residential neighborhoods of Ramadi, with a higher concentration in densely populated areas and waste disposal sites, which constituted a percentage of the total population. (30)% of the total areas where stray dogs are found, and (23)% of the open spaces within the urban fabric, are affected. The reason for this spread is the weakness of veterinary control services and procedures, and the lack of attention to controlling the spread of dogs, whose numbers have increased within residential neighborhoods and streets. The research emphasized a set of recommendations, most notably activating the role of veterinary services to implement rapid control measures against the spread of dogs, activating the role of the municipality in removing debris and waste, imposing fines on violators, fencing off abandoned structures, and developing joint strategic plans geographical, environmental, and health-related to raise environmental and health awareness among residents to reduce this phenomenon, which has become a danger to the urban environment and its inhabitants.