Sochi hires exterminators to wipe out stray dogs before Olympics

[Aldurin]

The city of Sochi is going to get a lot of shit over this.

The city of Sochi has hired a private company to kill as many stray dogs as possible before the Winter Olympics, it has been claimed.
Describing the animals as ‘biological trash’, the owner of the company has reportedly admitted being tasked with using poison and traps to rid the city of stray dogs before thousands of tourists and competitors arrive for the Games’ opening ceremony next Friday.
The news will anger animal rights campaigners who thought Sochi officials had abandoned plans to exterminate the stray dogs following widespread protests last year.

I hate this kind of stuff. It is understandable that stray dogs are a concern in cities, but having the solution being to exterminate them like vermin is awful. Not only is this a health concern for other wildlife around the city, but this is also a threat to domesticated dogs who happen to wander too far from their owner's care (or not that far at all depending on how this is handled, though it sounds like it's not that concerning for the extermination company). I really do hope that this gives the city government negative attention and affects reception to having the Winter Olympics there, since that sort of blunt and heartless handling of the problem disgusts me.

[Aerozord]

It does shock me how quickly Russia has become a festering crap hole. I mean it was never among the top places I'd visit but now I'd actively avoid it.

[Shyria Dracnoir]

"Become?"

[Karrrrrrrrrrrresche]

I'm not really sure I'm getting this. Never heard anybody complain about exterminators doing their job before. Poison rats and other rodents and it's perfectly fine, do it to dogs and it's terrible?

[Seil]

Stray dogs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dog_diseases) can be rescued and adopted into loving families.

Stray rats and other rodents (http://www.macroevolution.net/diseases-carried-by-rats.html) carry infectious diseases that can kill a child.

[greed]

The bulk of rescued dogs are destroyed sorry to say. Also Russia probably has a lot more problems with parasites and diseases than the States, so yeah honestly all the horrifying and terrible things about Russia this ranks fairly low.

Also I think they have a LOT more stray dogs than we in the west do.

[Bum Bill Bee]

Also, can't stray dogs carry infectious diseases as well?

Hrm, somehow I always abstractly thought of stray feral animals that used to be domesticated as being like vermin.

[Karrrrrrrrrrrresche]

Stray dogs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dog_diseases) can be rescued and adopted into loving families.

Stray rats and other rodents (http://www.macroevolution.net/diseases-carried-by-rats.html) carry infectious diseases that can kill a child.

Stray rats can probably be adopted just as well as dogs in the general sense. They're both acceptable household pets, and both can carry infectious diseases that harm humans, not just rats.

Correct me if I'm wrong but it seems like you're putting a pretty severe double standard on this because of a bias against less cute animals.

[Menarker]

I believe the expressed issue in the opening post is more the semi-indiscriminate nature of poisons and traps to kill them (possibly causing deaths of owned pets or even small children) that get too close. That this hasty state of trying to mass-slaughter them was the result of public face-saving for the Olympics when the government probably wouldn't have even been half as concerned about the stray dogs rounding around, since they seem to have been present for quite some time. That they are only investing money and time NOW when they are the face of the Olympics as opposed to any other time (when they would not be pressured by time to control the issue safely and humanely) does not paint them in a very pleasant light.

[rpgdemon]

Stray rats can probably be adopted just as well as dogs in the general sense. They're both acceptable household pets, and both can carry infectious diseases that harm humans, not just rats.

Correct me if I'm wrong but it seems like you're putting a pretty severe double standard on this because of a bias against less cute animals.

In fact, I think stray dogs are more likely to be rabid than stray rats, if only because they're much more likely to sustain a bite and not die of it, to be infected.

[Seil]

Apparently cats are more likely to have rabies, according to the CDC. (http://www.cdc.gov/features/dsrabies/)

This study of infectious diseases as carried by dogs doesn't include studies including wild Russian dogs, but it does list a variety of different dog-to-human infections that could occur. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2600154/)

Alternatively, here's a link to infectious diseases carried by rats. (http://www.hpa.org.uk/Topics/InfectiousDiseases/InfectionsAZ/Zoonoses/GeneralInformation/zoo010ZoonosesFromRats/)

Not knowing the ratio of wild dogs and wild rats to humans in Sochi, and which one comes in contact more with humans, I admit that it is possible that both wild rats and wild dogs are dangerous to humans. It is possible for both of them to be caught, cleaned, immunized and - with a clean bill of health - be turned over to a loving family.

However, in my experience, it would be much simpler to catch them, to find someone willing to adopt them, and to pay for the veterinarian care required.

[Krylo]

Thing to note about wild dogs: They're territorial, often used to being abused (and, as such, are psychologically scarred), and strong enough to maul or kill someone. People are also less likely to act appropriately to a dangerous dog than a dangerous rat, due to both dog vs rat psychology and how they react to panicky humans, and human kind's long term bond with dogs.

Disease isn't really a thing that's necessary for them to be dangerous to humans. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/08/mexico-city-dogs-attack-kill-cerro-de-la-estrella_n_2429058.html)

As for just turning them over to a family, even a completely domesticated dog if it's been raised by in a family where someone might be abusive (children are bad for this, if the dog doesn't have a good temperament to start with), can quickly maul or kill someone.

Take one that's already used to living on the streets and give it to someone who ISN'T trained to deal with abused animals and you're just asking for a tragic mauling.

The only thing people should really be protesting here is that Russia ever let its stray dog problem get bad enough that this kind of thing is necessary at all.

[Aerozord]

Its the mass killing that bothers me, I would indeed be bothered if they were doing this to rodents.

Plus this is a "attack the symptom not the disease" issue. Your concern shouldn't be all the wild dogs, it should be why the heck you have so many strays that you find this necessary in the first place.

[Loyal]

However, in my experience, it would be much simpler to catch them, to find someone willing to adopt them, and to pay for the veterinarian care required.I have no idea what experience you could possibly have, to make doing all of the above simpler than simply killing them off. Especially on the scale described. Especially if the city's footing the bill.

[Tev]

Here's another Olympics fiasco that just hit the news:

The Russian Government is spying on reporters in the shower? (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/06/russia-journalists-sochi-hotels-sying_n_4739400.html)

Journalists may have been tweeting about their hotel nightmares in Sochi, but the Russian government says it has proof the whole thing is overblown—because it's been spying on people in their hotel rooms.

The Internet has been ablaze with what the Washington Post dubbed the "hilarious and gross" experiences journalists covering the 2014 Olympics were having in their hotels.

But, as the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, Russian officials dismissed the claim, with deputy prime minister Dmitry Kozak confidently asserting that hotel surveillance footage showed things were fine (emphasis added):

Kozak, the deputy prime minister responsible for the Olympic preparations, reflected the view held among many Russian officials that some Western visitors are deliberately trying to sabotage Sochi's big debut out of bias against Russia. "We have surveillance video from the hotels that shows people turn on the shower, direct the nozzle at the wall and then leave the room for the whole day," he said. An aide then pulled a reporter away before Mr. Kozak could be questioned further on surveillance in hotel rooms.

So maybe journalists have "creepy government surveillance" to add to their list of hotel issues. Of course, they probably should have been on their guard already, since, as NBC's Richard Engel reported recently, the State Department has warned travelers that they should "have no expectation of privacy, even in their hotel rooms" when they go to Sochi.

Man, this Olympics just got interesting....

[Grandmaster_Skweeb]

Welcome to Shochilypicsland! (http://imgur.com/a/0muGY)

The hotels is great! (http://imgur.com/gallery/o01Cq)

[Aerozord]

I am just imagining the logic of the Russian government right now

"Hey remember what it was like when Stalin was in charge? Lets give that another try"

[Flarecobra]

Seems the stray dogs have been getting everywhere at the Olympics...

One got onto the cross-country sking course, and another got into the opening ceremony. (http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/stray-dog-finds-its-way-into-sochi-opening-ceremony-152630166.html)

Throw in the fact that they've been all over the Olympic village...

[Grandmaster_Skweeb]

Barely functional olympic village, spying on reporters/hotels and openly saying to, failed attempt at mass stray dog extermination..

I spose if one is going to fail hard one might as well go for the gold.

[Seil]

Not to mention their hard anti-gay stance that has caused sponsors to withdraw. (http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/sochi-complaints-russia-anti-gay-law-22373994)

[Flarecobra]

It gets better.

Sochi is also supposed to host the following sport events in the near future:

The 2014 winter Paralympics.
The 2014-2020 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup.

EDIT: So I was looking on Yahoo, and I found this: How so adopt a Sochi stray dog. (http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/how-to-adopt-a-sochi-stray-dog--tips-from-the-humane-society-international-155456535.html)