Sochi, Russia, officials accused of poisoning stray dogs

SOCHI, Russia, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- Animal rights activists said officials in Sochi, Russia, are poisoning some of the thousands of street dogs in the city ahead of the Winter Olympics.

One Sochi resident, Yulia Krasova, said she watched as a dog died in pain in the street two weeks ago.

"At first I thought someone beat the dog," she said. "The dog jumped up and started running around in circles. Then she fell down and started spitting up ... I called the veterinarian. He said there is a 100 percent guarantee the dog was poisoned."

The Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee issued a statement in defense of accusations stray dogs were being culled before the games, CNN reported Wednesday.

"All stray dogs that are found on the Olympic Park are collected by a professional veterinary contractor for the well-being of the people on the park and the animals themselves," the committee said. "All healthy animals are released following their health check."

A new government-backed animal shelter opened, but some activists said they don't trust the facility, CNN said.

"Over the last couple of days, when this uproar began, they built this new shelter just for the media," said Vlada Provotorova, who built her own shelter and was feeding dogs with her own money.