Reprieve for strays

Russia is changing its policy of killing stray dogs and instead will lock them in temporary kennels before the football World Cup this year in case they attack supporters. The kennels were built after an MP complained to Sports Minister Pavel Kolobkov about the random killing of homeless dogs. Authorities in Sochi were criticised in 2014 when they hired a pest control company to kill hundreds of strays before the Winter Olympics there. Kolobkov said World Cup host cities would be instructed to "avoid measures that could be evaluated as cruel treatment of animals and provoke a negative reaction in society".