A pack of blue dogs has become a cause of concern for authorities in Russia.
They were spotted by the local residents around an abandoned chemical production factory called Dzerzhinskoye Orgsteklo plant. Having bright blue fur, the dogs were photographed when they were wandering on the road near the factory. So far, around five dogs with blue coloured furs have been spotted. Although it has not been confirmed, it is suspected that the colour of dogs have been caused by the pollutants which were left at the factory after it shut down six years ago.
Located in the region of Nizhny Novgorod, the plant used to manufacture plexiglass and hydrocyanic acid, as reported by Daily Mail. The factory shut down around six years ago due to financial woes. It is believed that copper sulphate at the factory is the reason behind the dog furs turning blue.
Reacting to the pictures, Dzerzhinsk city authorities are now seeking permission to enter the private property in order to catch the dogs. The authorities want to investigate the reason behind the blue fur of the dogs and to also assess their health.
Commenting about the incident, Andrey Mislivets --who is the bankruptcy manager of the plant --questioned the authenticity of the pictures. The report says that he also agrees to the possibility that the stray dogs might have found copper sulphate and rolled in it. He mentioned that a similar incident had happened a few years ago.
However, Andrey added that the plant cannot do much about it because no one can control stray dogs.
Copper sulphate, which is suspected to be the reason why the fur of the dogs have been coloured blue, isused in several industries such as agriculture, mining, painting and others. It is a blue coloured substance which is used as a raw material for several copper products.
The Russian city Dzerzhinsk where the plant is located is situated almost 370 kilometers east of the Russian capital Moscow. It is considered to be the hub of chemical production in Russia.