Thousands of stray dogs to be culled in Siberian town

The authorities are allocating 167 roubles ($5.50) for each dog that is destroyed. 

Stray dogs are seen as a problem in many Russian cities and vigilante dog catchers set up gangs to kill them in some places.

The authorities in Gorno-Altaisk are offering a contract for three times a week patrols which must be accompanied by a policeman. 

At the end of each raid the dogs must be taken to an official veterinary for a check on how the killing was undertaken. 

The dogs will be buried in a 'bio-thermal pit'.

Dog hunters organised by the internet are operating in larger Russian cities. for example Moscow and Novosibirsk. 

'We are fighting wild dogs. We do not exterminate pet dogs', says one group on its website entitled 'No to vermin'

But the use of poisoned baits for dogs is ensnaring pets, say critics. Some owners say the semi-clandestine 'Doghunters' organisation should be put on trial, labelling them 'sadists' and 'butchers'.

'We would prefer for the dogs to be captured and placed in shelters, where if no one claimed them, they would be put down,' said a 'Doghunter' member from Siberia, who gave only his nickname of Dogmeat, said AFP. He claimed that government efforts 'had no effect'  because the state funding allocated for tackling the problem 'had apparently been embezzled'. 'The Doghunters are maniacs. They enjoy killing. Unfortunately, the police do not want to react', said Daria Khmelnitskaya, an activist with animal rights group Vita.