Dogs 'executed' for jailbreak

Dogs 'executed' for jailbreak

Officials at a prison in northern Serbia have killed two guard dogs for not barking when five inmates escaped, reports say.

Local media reported that the dogs had been "found guilty" of not alerting the guards to the get-away as they had been trained to do.

The dogs did not deserve the death penalty

Branka Pasko, animal rights activist

The two 15-year-old Sarplaninac dogs - also known as Yugoslav Shepherds - were shot dead at the dog pound in the town of Sombor, 150 kilometres (93 miles) north-west of Belgrade.

Local animal rights activists have protested against the shooting.

"The dogs did not deserve the death penalty and cannot ultimately be responsible for the escape," said Branko Pasko from the animal rights group Arka.

The dogs could have been sent into retirement or put to sleep with an injection, she said.

Local reports did not say where the guards were at the time of the break-out.

The five inmates escaped by digging a hole under a prison wall.

Three of the fugitives were later recaptured.