Complaints over unfair treatment of animals for sale at Souq Wagif are on the rise as passersby witness pets wilt in the summer heat.

More Qatar residents have been writing to the Animal Resource Department at the Ministry of Environment, according to a report in the Gulf Times, which visited the souq last week:

When shopkeepers were questioned about the lack of food, and especially water, they replied that the animals had already drunk their water.

“They don’t need water now,” declared one shopkeeper about three obviously hot and thirsty kittens. “Look around the souq – it is the same everywhere!”

Animals are kept outside in the heat, often without food or water Many of the cages housing animals without water or food were also filthy, with animals sitting or lying in their own excrement.

There have been some improvements, the report adds: some shopkeepers, for example, have started only selling birds and fish, the animals that are officially allowed to be sold at the souq.

But the government’s voice continues to remain silent on the issue of animal welfare at the souq.

And QAWS and other animal welfare enthusiasts have long argued that Qatar needs to educate staff working at the souq and visitors who mistreat the animals because they don’t know how to handle them properly.

What do you guys think of the pet souq?