Russia is considering rounding up stray dogs and using them to clear land mines in Ukraine

Russia is investigating a plan to round up stray dogs and use them to clear land mines in Ukraine.

Many towns and cities have problems with rejected pets and street dogs that hunt in packs.

The Russian parliament has given a first reading on legislation that would allow ‘euthanasia’ of stray dogs.

But senior pro-Putin MP Fedot Tumusov, 67, demanded that “large and aggressive” strays be trained by specialists for war work.

Such a role in de-mining would put their lives in acute danger.

“We have many dog ​​experts in our country who can teach [strays] all kinds of different skills,” said the politician.

He asked the government if “dog experts can train large and aggressive dogs and send them to the SMO” [war] zone’.

SMO refers to the “special military operation” Russia is deploying to invade Ukraine, seeking the “demilitarization and denazification” of the country.

The Just Russia party MP said, “Let them help pull out the wounded and take part in mine clearance.”

Many towns and cities in Russia have problems with rejected pets and stray dogs hunting in packs (Stock Image)

Tumusov said, “We have many dog ​​experts in our country who can teach [strays] all kinds of different skills’ (Stock Image)

Dogs were used by the Red Army in World War II, he said, and strays should be mobilized.

Tumusov, an economics professor who represents the world’s coldest region, Yakutia, in the Russian parliament, has been sanctioned by many Western countries, including Britain and the US, for his pro-war rules.

The new laws to allow the killing of strays followed the death of an eight-year-old boy in Orenburg after being attacked by a pack of strays.

Regions could decide how to reduce the number of stray dogs.