Stray dogs 'threaten' Sochi

With the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics just four days away, IOC President Thomas Bach has defended Russia's ability to prodive a safe Games.

A PEST control company which has been killing stray dogs in Sochi for years says it has a contract to exterminate more of the animals throughout the Olympics.

Alexei Sorokin, director general of pest control firm Basya Services, said his company is involved in what he described as the "catching and disposing" of dogs. Mr Sorokin refused to specify whether they shoot or poison dogs or say where they take the carcasses.

Thousands of stray dogs are roaming the streets of Sochi, Mr Sorokin said, and some of them are "biting children".

Mr Sorokin said he attended a rehearsal of the Olympic opening ceremony last week and saw a stray dog walking in on the performers.

"A dog ran into the Fisht Stadium, we took it away," he said. "God forbid something like this happens at the actual opening ceremony. This will be a disgrace for the whole country."

A stray dog walks through Olympic Park ahead of the Winter Olympics.

Stray dogs are not uncommon in Sochi and the surrounding area, and many tend to gather near construction sites where they are likely to get food and shelter from workers. They have even been able to get inside the Olympic Park.

Mr Sorokin's company operates in the Krasnodar region, which encompasses Sochi and the neighbouring area. Mr Sorokin refused to say how many dogs they kill a year, calling it "a commercial secret".

Sergei Krivonosov, a lawmaker from the Krasnodar region, last year supported the dog culling.

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Stray dogs 'threaten' Sochi