Flesh-eating dogs killed by workers

Civic workers have been ordered to kill packs of stray dogs that have been attacking tsunami survivors in some of the worst-hit areas of southern India, officials said on Thursday. At least 30 stray dogs have already been killed in Nagapattinam.

Civic workers have been ordered to kill packs of stray dogs that have been attacking tsunami survivors in some of the worst-hit areas of southern India, officials said Thursday.

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At least 30 dogs were killed Wednesday in the coastal town of Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu state after the canines attacked people, including children, at relief shelters, a government official said on condition of anonymity.

Stray dogs are common in cities and towns in India. But the dogs seen around almost every relief center are particularly aggressive, snarling menacingly at people, especially when food is being distributed to tsunami survivors.

The behavior of the dogs had changed after they ate corpses washed ashore after the tsunami struck the region, said Shantha Sheela Nair, the top official in charge of relief work in the district.