Stray Dogs in Sochi Reportedly Being Killed Ahead of Olympic Games

Sorry to be a massive bummer, but it appears the Sochi Olympics just got even more dismal. The city is reportedly exterminating many of the stray dogs crowding the city. Apparently Russia doesn’t go in for spay-and-neuter campaigns.

That’s according to ABC News, which tracked down Alexei Sorokin, who says his company was hired to do the deed. (They typically use poison and traps.) He wouldn’t say how many dogs they’d gotten or what they’re doing with them, but he did defend the practice, suggesting strays could interfere with the games, spread rabies and so forth. He does not come off very well!

“I am for the right of people to walk the streets without fear of being attacked by packs of dogs,” he said….”Let’s call things by their real name. These dogs are biological trash,” he said.

Sochi’s city hall hasn’t responded to requests for comment from ABC News and the AP, so it’s possible Sorokin is full of it. But these tweets, via Business Insider, suggest someone is doing a number on the dogs:

It’s all part of the last-minute efforts to get Sochi camera-ready in time for opening ceremony on February 6, like when you get desperate and throw your dirty laundry in the bottom of your closet 20 minutes before your mom comes to visit. Only, that doesn’t usually involve killing a bunch of dogs.