Mariya Boyadzhiyska, a Deputy Mayor of the Bulgarian capital Sofia, has resigned over the failure of the Sofia Municipality to cope with the growing stray dog problem.

Boyadzhiyska, who is in charge of the environment at the municipal administration, announced her resignation Monday night amidst a rising number of reports about attacks by stray dogs.

The public tensions over the issue escalated after last week a pack of stray dogs mauled a 88-year-old Bulgarian professor, Boteo Tachkov, who died of his wounds on Sunday.

Shortly before the Deputy Mayor announced her resignation, a young girl was attack and bitten by a stray dog in front of the Sofia City Hall building.

It is still unknown whether Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova has accepted Boyadzhiyska's resignation.

Earlier on Monday, a total of 37 animal rights NGOs in Bulgaria demanded the resignation of Agriculture and Foods Minister Miroslav Naydenov over the stray dog problem. Before becoming a government minister, Naydenov was in charge of the Ekoravnovesie ("Eco-Balance"), Sofia's municipal firm in charge of tackling the problem with the stray dogs.

Several dozen of thousands of stray dogs are estimated to be roaming the streets of Sofia – from the downtown to the outlying suburbs, with the problem being the most acute in the Malinova Dolina quarter ("Raspberry Valley") in the south of the city.

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