Animal rights association Let the Animals Live filed a legal petition demanding that the Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA) put a stop to the procedure of shooting and killing stray dogs in and around nature preserves on February 19.
According to data obtained by Let the Animals Live, the INPA killed approximately 1,300 stray dogs in 2025, an increase from the 794 killed in 2024.
The practice of killing stray dogs found in or within 500 meters of nature preserves, Let the Animals Live says, is “cruel” and “a practice that exceeds all moral standards.”
Let the Animals Live’s petition, which was filed with the Jerusalem District Court, claims that the INPA’s "Procedure for Treating Feral Dogs" contradicts Israel’s Animal Cruelty Law, rabies ordinances, and previous High Court of Justice rulings regarding euthanasia.
The procedure establishes shooting as an alternative to “treating” dogs instead of following a High Court ruling that requires those dealing with animals to first exhaust non-lethal options before turning to euthanasia, Let the Animals Live stated in a press release regarding the petition.
Let the Animals Live additionally claimed that the legal framework, including the Rabies Ordinance, requires that a government veterinarian must approve the killing of any animal or that the shooting is done for purposes such as protecting wild animals or preserving nature.
Zikim training base dog purge
The association also noted a prior incident that recently occurred at the IDF’s Zikim training base in which around 30 dogs were killed.
Following the Zikim incident, Let the Animals Live appealed directly to the INPA, requesting that the "Procedure for Treating Feral Dogs" be changed to comply with animal cruelty laws.
In that appeal, Let the Animals Live suggested that the INPA’s veterinarian may be called to capture the dogs and transfer them to a municipal kennel as a non-lethal measure of animal control. They also urged the INPA halt shootings until the procedure is amended.
"The cruel shooting of stray dogs by the Nature and Parks Authority for years must stop,” Let the Animals Live asserted, adding that according to international public and animal health organizations, the “mass killing of dogs does not help prevent the spread of rabies or reduce the stray dog population.”
“We hope that the court will also understand what we, and many parts of the public, have understood for a long time,” the association stated. “Killing is never the solution."