Azernews.Az

Moscow's environmental protection department has announced a tender for a control program to cut down the city's population of stray dogs, estimated at between 30,000 and 100,000 animals, RIA Novosti reported.

The tender, with a contract value of 5 million rubles ($160,000) aims to "create a control system which will reduce the negative influence [of dogs] on the plant and animal world including on the city's protected species," an announcement on a government tender website says.

The issue of stray dogs in the capital has received renewed attention recently by the appearance of freelance dog hunters who drop poison in local parks to kill the animals off. Strays in Moscow often congregate in large packs and can be very aggressive, and sometimes carry harmful - potentially fatal - diseases, including rabies.

The attempt to kill the dogs has been met with threats against the perpetrators by animal rights activists.

The city authorities are already spending 2.5 billion rubles ($800,000) from 2012-14 to contain the problem by housing strays and carrying out a sterilization program. The city already houses 12,500 animals in dogs homes. In 2011, the city caught 8,600 strays and sterilized 7,500.