Protect Strays In Olympic Host Cities

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Tell the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that mistreatment and killing of animals is not an acceptable way to prepare for the Olympic Games.

The Winter Olympics in Sochi have passed, yet a dark cloud still hovers over the Olympic Games. Before and during the event, the Sochi government implemented efforts to remove stray dogs from the city, and the methods used were less than humane. Instead of sending the dogs to shelters or implementing a spay/neuter program, the government hired dog catchers who began shooting the dogs with poisoned darts before heaving them - dead or alive - into trucks for disposal.

Various animal rescue organizations have tried to help by giving some strays a temporary home in a shelter, but more needs to be done in order to prevent future useless killings. Those dogs in the shelter are safe, for now. Unfortunately, the many dogs still roaming the streets in Sochi might not be so lucky. We need to ensure that this type of ineffective, last-minute, and inhumane preparation effort never mars the site of an Olympic event again.

**Please tell the IOC** to immediately and publicly condemn the Sochi stray dog killings, and to recommend that the Sochi city government cease and desist from this activity. Demand that the IOC add to their binding Code of Ethics that future host cities must neither conduct nor condone the inhumane treatment of animals in order to prepare for an Olympic event.