Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris has sparked a national debate after suggesting that Egypt should stop killing stray dogs and instead treat, export and sell them abroad, turning what many see as a public-health burden into a potential economic opportunity.
Sawiris, Egypt’s richest man and Africa’s sixth richest person according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index, took to social media to advocate for a national programme to collect, treat, and export stray dogs instead of killing them or leaving them on the streets.
The proposal, which has attracted widespread attention in Egypt, comes as authorities struggle to manage a large stray animal population amid concerns over dog bites, rabies and public safety.
It has also thrust an issue that normally receives limited attention into the centre of a broader conversation about public policy, economics and animal welfare.
“We need a national project to round up these dogs, provide them with medical treatment, and then sell and export them abroad where people actually want to raise them, rather than relying on random culling and allowing them to spread diseases,” Sawiris wrote on social media.
