10K Stray Dogs to Be Shot

From bad to worse: Last year, Kyrgyzstan shot 5,000 stray dogs, unable to afford the $300,000 it would have cost to build shelters for them. This year, that figure is depressingly higher: Officials in the capital city of Bishkek say budgetary woes are forcing them to shoot the city's estimated 10,000 stray dogs, reports the AP. A city hall rep—who says the dogs are being killed in the early morning and evening by a team of 10 shooters and dog catchers—urged the world not to consider the act barbaric. (Click for another tragic animal tale.)