Abandoned dogs in Ethiopia's capital get little care. A woman wants to change that

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Among the whimpering of rescued dogs, a soft whistle cuts through. It’s Feven Melese, a young woman hoping to support thousands of abandoned dogs on the streets of the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

The 29-year-old music degree graduate has put up a rare shelter on the outskirts of the city, where she provides food and a place to stay for 40 dogs, while feeding about 700 others every week on the streets.

Melese said she has found new homes for more than 300 dogs in the past two years. Together with fellow young animal rights activists, they are on a mission to change the widespread perception in Ethiopia that dogs are protectors working for humans, not pets to be cared for.

As skyscrapers rise in Addis Ababa, the estimated 200,000 unclaimed dogs roaming the streets have fewer places to hide. Many dog owners have abandoned them as they move into new residential apartments whose landlords enforce a no-pet policy.

Authorities have expressed concern about the spread of diseases like rabies, and in recent months they have faced criticism after poisoning thousands of stray dogs ahead of major events, following an incident in which a resident was bitten.

Melese said many in Ethiopia do not treat dogs with care and abandon them when they become inconvenient.

“In Ethiopia, the society does not understand. They say, are they (dogs) hungry? Do they have feelings? They don’t care if they eat or not. If they are sick, they don’t care,” she said.

Melese’s shelter, though small and makeshift, is also a haven for dogs that survived road accidents. One of them, Konjit — whose name means “beautiful” in Amharic — wears a neck brace to help support healing, and wags her tail as Melese cuddles her.

Melese said that as a child in Addis Ababa, she cared for stray dogs and ended up with five that came to her home and stayed.

“My mother got angry and tried to take them back to the streets, but they kept coming back and I would still take them in,” she said.

Some residents in Addis Ababa say they are worried about the dangers posed by stray dogs and that the animals should be taken to a shelter.

“They (dogs) do not allow people to pass on the road and can be aggressive, even biting. They are very dangerous for the community, as their owners are unknown. No one can safely pass this way at night,” said Yonas Bezabih.

The Addis Ababa city administration official, Melese Anshebo, told The Associated Press that the government was planning to begin a dog registration and vaccination exercise to ensure that dog owners are fully responsible.

“To those who seem to have no owners, we will aim to find them shelters and some of the stray dogs who show symptoms of viruses, we will be forced to eliminate them,” he said.

A veterinarian, Dr. Alazar Ayele, said rabies remains a serious public health concern in Addis Ababa and expressed concern that resources for vaccination, sterilization and sheltering are still very limited.

“What we need are coordinated, humane approaches, more vaccines, trained veterinarians and community education to protect both people and animals,” he said.

Luna Solomon, a friend of Melese's, volunteers several times a week at the shelter to help feed the dogs and check on those that may need a vet.

Solomon said many owners abandon female dogs because they are likely to reproduce.

“People don’t usually pick female dogs because it takes a lot of responsibility to raise a female dog. There’s a lot that comes with it. Also, they don’t want to deal with her having puppies,” she said.

Biruk Dejene met Melese on social media when he was looking for a home for his dog that was being mistreated by his housemates.

He now gets to see his dog, Zuse, when he visits the shelter every week to volunteer.

While many see dogs as their guardians, there is often a lack of reciprocity by the owners, Dejene said.

“There’s no attachment. They just want them for their benefits and so on, so we’re doing a little bit of awareness of that,” he said.

Melese and her friends will continue advocating for dogs both on social media and in the streets of Addis Ababa, she said. They hope the government will consider mass vaccinations, neutering programs, and incentivized adoption to help give stray dogs a second chance at a home.

Associated Press journalist Samuel Getachew contributed.

Stray dogs that were abandoned on the streets rest at a shelter in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Stray dogs that were abandoned on the streets rest at a shelter in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Abandoned stray dogs rest at a shelter in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Stray dogs that were abandoned on the streets rest at a shelter in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Feven Melesein, 29-years-old, holds a dog that was abandoned on the streets of the capital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

BEIJING (AP) — Breaking with the United States, Canada has agreed to cut its 100% tariff on Chinese electric cars in return for lower tariffs on Canadian farm products, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday.

Carney made the announcement after two days of meetings with Chinese leaders. He said there would be an initial cap of 49,000 vehicles on Chinese EV exports to Canada, growing to 70,000 over five years. China will reduce its tariff on canola seeds, a major Canadian export, from about 84% to about 15%, he told reporters.

“It has been a historic and productive two days,” Carney said, speaking outside against the backdrop of a traditional pavilion and a frozen pond at a Beijing park. “We have to understand the differences between Canada and other countries, and focus our efforts to work together where we’re aligned.”

Earlier Friday, he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping pledged to improve relations between their two nations after years of acrimony.

Xi told Carney in a meeting at the Great Hall of the People that he is willing to continue working to improve ties, noting that talks have been underway on restoring and restarting cooperation since the two held an initial meeting in October on the sidelines of a regional economic conference in South Korea.

“It can be said that our meeting last year opened a new chapter in turning China–Canada relations toward improvement,” China's top leader said.

Carney, the first Canadian prime minister to visit China in eight years, said better relations would help improve a global governance system that he described as “under great strain.”

He called for a new relationship “adapted to new global realities” and cooperation in agriculture, energy and finance.

Those new realities reflect in large part the so-called America-first approach of U.S. President Donald Trump. The tariffs he has imposed have hit both the Canadian and Chinese economies. Carney, who has met with several leading Chinese companies in Beijing, said ahead of his trip that his government is focused on building an economy less reliant on the U.S. at what he called “a time of global trade disruption.”

A Canadian business owner in China called Carney's visit game-changing, saying it re-establishes dialogue, respect and a framework between the two nations.

“These three things we didn’t have,” said Jacob Cooke, the CEO of WPIC Marketing + Technologies, which helps exporters navigate the Chinese market. “The parties were not talking for years.”

Canada had followed the U.S. in putting tariffs of 100% on EVs from China and 25% on steel and aluminum under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Carney’s predecessor.

China responded by imposing duties of 100% on Canadian canola oil and meal and 25% on pork and seafood. It added a 75.8% tariff on canola seeds last August. Collectively, the import taxes effectively closed the Chinese market to Canadian canola, an industry group has said. Overall, China's imports from Canada fell 10.4% last year to $41.7 billion, according to Chinese trade data.

China is hoping Trump’s pressure tactics on allies such as Canada will drive them to pursue a foreign policy that is less aligned with the United States. The U.S. president has suggested Canada could become America's 51st state.

Carney departs China on Saturday and visits Qatar on Sunday before attending the annual gathering of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland next week. He will meet business leaders and investors in Qatar to promote trade and investment, his office said.

Associated Press business writer Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong contributed to this report.

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, center, arrives to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, Pool)

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)