Dog overpopulation — resulting in suffering for stray animals and community conflict — is best addressed through sustained humane methods rather than culling.
Dog overpopulation is a welfare crisis affecting hundreds of millions of animals globally. Stray dogs face starvation, disease, trauma, and road traffic mortality. Traditional culling responses are both ethically problematic and empirically ineffective. Evidence-based approaches — combining sterilization, vaccination, and community engagement — reduce suffering for existing dogs while progressively reducing population size. These programs simultaneously address animal welfare and public health goals, making them the most defensible strategy for any community facing dog overpopulation.