DUSHANBE, October 4, 2013, Asia-Plus -- Tajik authorities in the capital, Dushanbe, say some 500 stray dogs were caught and destroyed last month amid a wave of residents’ complaints over the growing number of feral canines roaming the city, Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service reports.

City officials said on October 4 they had recorded at least 80 cases of stray dogs attacking people in 2013.

According to official figures, some 2,500 stray dogs were destroyed in Dushanbe between January and October this year.  Authorities say the stray dog population is on the rise in Dushanbe as packs of dogs searching for food have moved from nearby villages to the city''s garbage pits.

Dogs abandoned by owners have also been a cause for the increase of the capital''s feral animal population. There are no animal shelters in Dushanbe.