Kyrgyzstan: Dog (Will Be) Gone, 10,000 of ‘Em

A chorus of feral dogs barking in the wee hours is a familiar sound to any Bishkek resident. In some neighborhoods at night, the strays can be almost as threatening as the roving bands of muggers (the canines scatter when stomped or yelled at, the thugs don’t). Mutts and muggers: Together, or taken alone, they’re a good reason to taxi it home after dark. 

Tackling half of this problem, a grim campaign to clean Bishkek’s streets is about to begin, RIA Novosti reports. Some of us may wish the offensive were aimed at the thieves. But instead, Bishkek shall shoot 10,000 pooches. 

One city official said Bishkek simply does not have enough money to build a pound. "Don't think of us as barbarians," he said. In 2010, about 5,000 dogs were shot, RIAN reported.

The relatively calm mornings and evenings are choice times to scare Bishkek residents. Since the violence last year, many grow agitated merely at the sound of fireworks, a staple of weddings for the well-to-do. Chances are they’d prefer a dog barking in the middle of the night to explosions of uncertain provenance at daybreak.