Russian billionaire 'saves Sochi's condemned stray dogs by funding impromptu shelter in the hills above Olympic village'

Dog lover Oleg Deripaska has built a shelter for the animals above Sochi

Billionaire said his dog was a 'close friend' for five years



Pest control company said animals were 'biological trash'



Oleg Deripaska owns Russia's Basic Element conglomerate and is one of his country's richest men

Prowling the Olympic Park in Sochi unwanted and unloved, a large pack of dogs were destined to be put down by organizers who thought the animals were a nuisance and a danger to tourists.

But the pack of mutts have had an unlikely saviour: Oleg Deripaska, one Russia's richest men.

Dismayed that more than 2000 strays would be put down by authorities after a pest control company at the Winter Olympics was handed a contract to rid the area of the animals, Mr Deripaska decided put his hand in his rather deep pockets and fund a dog shelter in the hills above Sochi.



'My first dog I found in the street of my village, the tiny village [where I grew up],” Mr Deripaska told the BBC. “It was a very close friend for almost five years.'

An army of construction workers on the Olympic site in the run-up to the games attracted the dogs, which were fed and looked after.



But after one animal interfered with a rehearsal run for the Olympic ceremony, and others bit children, according to the company charged with catching them, authorities decided to take action.

Alexei Sorokin, director general of Basya Services, the company tasked with catching the dogs, has described the animals as 'biological trash' and said Sochi had a 'rabies' problem.

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Puppies like these have been saved in Sochi thanks to the intervention of Oleg Deripaska

A Russian billionaire has built a shelter to save stray dogs in Sochi that faced extermination

Dog Home: Volunteer Sofia Turpetkina walks in the private dog shelter which saved many animals from almost certain death

The Sochi games are taking place under a cloud of alleged human rights abuses and corruption claims

The owner of the company reportedly admitted using poison and traps. The news angered animal rights campaigners who thought Sochi officials had abandoned plans to exterminate the stray dogs following widespread protests last year.

Homeless: Officials in Sochi have reportedly hired a private company to kill as many stray dogs as possible before thousands of tourists and competitors arrive in the city for the forthcoming Winter Olympics 'Biological trash': A stray mother and her puppy sit by the railings of a motorway leading into the city of Sochi

'Biological trash': A stray mother and her puppy sit by the railings of a motorway leading into the city of Sochi

A view of the dog shelters above Sochi

Local authorities and private groups have built a makeshift dog shelter in the surrounding countryside

Some 140 animals have been saved, with many re-homed, but others haven't been so lucky.

Authorities reneged on a decision to let the animals roam around the Sochi Olympic site after one interfered with a rehearsal run for the Olympic ceremony

Billionaire who saved animals is a dog lover himself

Alexei Sorokin, director general of Basya Services, the company tasked with catching the dogs described the animals as 'biological trash'

A dog looks on at a private dog shelter in Baranovka near Sochi following an outcry over the fate of stray animals being rounded up in the resort

Alexei Sorokin said Sochi had a 'rabies' problem

Speaking to ABC News, Sorokin has claimed the animals were a realistic threat to the Games.

‘Imagine if during an Olympic Games a ski jumper landed at 130KPH (80 MPH) and a dog runs into him when he lands. It would be deadly for both the jumper and the stray dog,’ he said.



Following a string of media reports the billionaire Russian aluminum tycoon decided to intervene and a team of animal welfare workers began to rescue as many dogs as they could.

Some 140 animals have been saved, with many re-homed, but others haven't been so lucky.

The Winter Olympics in the Black Sea resort of Sochi kicked off on February 6 amid claims of corruption, human rights abuses and persecution of lesbians and gays.

Mr Deripaska has links to the UK. In 2008 reports emerged that Chancellor George Osborne allegedly suggested the Russian donate £50,000 to the Conservatives despite the businessman not being eligible to vote in the UK.