Ukraine urges ban on killing dogs ahead of Euro 2012

Ukraine has called for an end to the killing of stray dogs ahead of the Euro 2012 football championships next summer, bending to pressure from Western critics.

The Environment Ministry has urged all the country’s mayors to stop putting down dogs ahead of the June event and build animal shelters instead.

Thousands of stray dogs have been killed in Ukraine over the past year, often poisoned or injected with illegal substances, in an apparent effort to clean city streets of strays ahead of the tournament.

That has outraged local and international animal protection groups.

The ministry’s statement followed a meeting with representatives of Naturewatch, a British-based group that had actively campaigned against animal cruelty in Ukraine.