An image shared on Facebook purportedly shows dozens of dogs fatally poisoned by the military in Myanmar.

Verdict: False

The picture, which shows a municipal culling of dogs, was taken in Pakistan in 2015, not Myanmar in 2021.

Fact Check:

Myanmar’s military seized control of the country from democratically-elected leaders on Feb. 1, according to BBC News. Since then, the military has used violence against anti-coup demonstrators and arrested people in night-time raids, the outlet also reported.

Facebook users have been sharing a photo in recent days that purportedly shows dozens of dogs that were killed by the Myanmar military. A similar claim about the picture has also appeared on Twitter. (RELATED: No, Myanmar Did Not Use Dominion Voting Systems In Its November 2020 Election)

“The police and army their cruelty is beyond imagination,” reads one Facebook post sharing the image. “They even killed strayed dogs coz (sic) they were barked and made noises them when they sneaked in to community and arrest people at night.”

However, the image does not show dogs killed by the Myanmar’s military. A reverse image search revealed the photo was actually taken in 2015 by AFP photographer Rizwan Tabassum in Karachi, the most populous city in Pakistan. It can be found on the Getty Images and AFP Forum websites.

“Pakistan commuters drive past a pile of dog carcasses at the road side in Karachi on May 12, 2015,” reads the Getty Images caption. “The city municipality has launched a campaign to eliminate stray dogs whose numbers are increasing alarmingly.”

Mass culling campaigns of stray dogs have occurred in large cities across Pakistan due to fear of rabies and other diseases, according to Arab News and Gulf News. Cities in Myanmar have also used culling campaigns to reduce stray dog populations.

Animal welfare groups such as Humane Society International and World Animal Protection have called for an end to the practice of culling dogs, proposing mass vaccination and sterilization as a more humane solution.