Romania's Parliament has voted to allow Bucharest to capture and kill tens of thousands of stray dogs in the capital.

Tuesday night's 226-23 vote, with 21 abstentions, in the Chamber of Deputies was not expected because Bucharest Mayor Sorin Oprescu had announced that a referendum would be held on Oct. 6 before deciding whether to go ahead with the plan. After the vote, Oprescu said he would propose on Wednesday that city hall cancel the referendum.

In recent years, a Bucharest woman was killed by a pack of strays, and a Japanese tourist died after a stray severed an artery in his leg. Last week, a 4-year-old boy was fatally mauled.

The bill approved by Parliament must now be signed by the president, then published, before it can become law and allow the euthanization campaign to begin.