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KIEV - In a clinic in the Ukrainian capital Kiev, two vets leanover a sleeping puppy and deftly remove its ovaries and uterus. After a storm sparked by the Euro 2012 co-host's alleged cull ofthe stray dogs that plague the country's streets, animal rightscampaigners have stepped in to try to control the errant canines bysterilising them. At the helm is Austrian organisation Vier Pfoten (Four Paws), whichis launching a programme notably in the four cities hosting matchesin Euro 2012: Kiev, plus Lviv in the west and Donetsk and Kharkivin the east. Mindful of the expected influx of hundreds of thousands of fans,plus a global television audience of millions, ex-Soviet Ukrainehas been working to spruce up its cities and burnish its image. Tackling the growing numbers of strays that roam their streets hasbeen part of those moves, also driven by serious concerns aboutferal dog attacks - which reportedly hit 2,800 in Kiev alone in2010. Last year, according to critics, Ukrainian authorities decided totake radical steps to wipe out as many of the animals as possiblebefore the tournament, which kicks off on June 8 in co-host Polandand ends in Kiev on July 1. Animal rights campaigners around the world condemned what they saidwas the extermination of thousands of dogs, claiming some werepoisoned or burned alive. In the face of the protests, the authorities ordered a halt to thekillings at the end of 2011. Vier Pfoten decided to come up with an alternative and in Februarysigned a deal with Ukraine. "The idea here is to use the atmosphere, the world's focus and theEuropean championship to develop something very, very long term,"said Four Paws representative Nicolas Entrup. "Once the final is played, the football atmosphere will be gone,but we will stay in Ukraine and work with Ukrainians to helpanimals," he added. Working out of mobile clinics, some 520 people are being musteredfor the programme, including 60 vets from Ukraine and beyond. "Our ambition is here to provide a positive solution, a positiveprogramme where people work together with animal welfare, activistsas well as veterinary experts," said Entrup. "It's a positive programme to stop the killing of stray dogs, todecline their population, so the relation between people andanimals can flourish and be positive," he underlined. The programme was launched in Kiev several weeks ago and is ongoingin a dusty city district where old houses stand alongsideSoviet-era towerblocks. Guided by local residents, a handful of Vier Pfoten experts,including a vet and a dog catcher, come across a pack of six dogs. Vet Cornel Stoenescu, from Romania, fires a tranquiliser dart andhits a black dog in the haunch. The animal begins to limp and then lies down, before the team cagesit and drive to a veterinary school. An elderly woman asks what's going on. "We're going to sterilise it, vaccinate it and bring it back here,"explains a young volunteer named Daria. "That's good, because there are people who poison them," the womansays. "That's happen several times here. It's horrible, they sufferso much." Natasha, a 13-year-old who knows and loves all the district'sstrays, waylays the team, concerned about a pregnant bitch. Unswayed by Daria's explanation that sterilisation doesn't hamperan ongoing pregnancy, the teenager responds: "But it's cruel!" Most locals are happy about the programme, saying they worry aboutdog attacks. "I worry for the kids. Everyone is afraid," said youngmother Olga Gapich, watching the operation with her three-year-olddaughter, adding that she opposes culls. But some are unsure about simple sterilisation. "Sterilisation is all well and good, but dogs don't use theirgenitals to bite you," said Katya Gorchinska, a journalist who wasbitten in Kiev city centre. I am an expert from pre-painted-steel.com, while we provides the quality product, such as PPGI Coil , Hot Dip Galvanized Steel Sheet Manufacturer, Pre Painted Steel,and more.
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