Story By: Anastasia Smirnova, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder,Agency: Central European News
Video Credit: CEN/@tjournal.ru
Bungling council officials who are said to have killed stray dogs and burned their bodies are accused of starting a blaze that set an entire landfill site alight.
These pictures were even posted online showing the dogs in a huge pile on a bed of rubber tyres and then later footage of the landfill site alight.
So the smoke from the burning dogs and later from the burning landfill site then drifted over into schools and residential areas following the campaign to get rid of the animals in the city of Yakutsk in the north-eastern Russian republic of Sakha. Residents reportedly found it unbearable to walk around the surrounding streets and were concerned that the fumes were poisonous to breathe in.
They also posted images of the piles of burning dogs and one motorist shared a video of a distant fire that sent up a huge cloud of smoke into the air to show what was going on.
However, the city authorities denied the allegation and claimed the online images were fake news and insisted they were operating within the guidelines of existing legislation in tackling the stray dog problem.
An increase in the number of stray dogs had reportedly prompted the decision to act by city mayor Sardana Avksentieva.
But a spokesperson for the mayor’s office called the information about the dog bonfires misleading and claimed it was orchestrated by a former employee who was allegedly caught stealing from a local utility company who was out for revenge.
It is unclear whether the city authorities are taking their allegations any further with a criminal complaint.
Netizen ‘Aleksandr Suvorov’ said: “If the mayor decided to do it, she decided correctly.”
‘Maks Solomatin’ commented: “People are happy to criticise the mayor until they are suddenly attacked on the street by a pack of stray dogs! Nothing more to say.”
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