Police Squad – Bred, trained and tortured for dog fighting

Completely scared, emaciated and covered with scars, 44 dogs lay in small kennels covered with excrement and urine in the basement of an old “Bauernsacherls” in Ansfelden. The stench was brutal, the dark dungeon had no ventilation, no windows and no other light sources.

Scared and skinny
“The animals were in a deplorable condition – starving, trembling and marked by abuse all over their bodies,” says Harald Hofner, head of the animal paradise Schabenreith in Steinbach am Ziehberg, who – like the Pfotenhilfe Lochen – had been called to the rescue by the authorities had to take care of the dogs.

30 police officers
A large-scale executive presence on Friday ended the horrific ordeal and freed the poor creatures. Around 30 police officers were present, including employees of the BH Linz-Land and an official veterinarian.

Spiked and electric collars
Many of the dogs – American Staffords and Belgian Malinois – wore spiked electric collars. “Unfortunately, one dog could not be saved, he was already dead in the middle of a mountain of excrement,” explains Jürgen Stadler from Pfotenhilfe Lochen.

Videos of illegal fights
The four-legged friends may have been bred, trained and abused for illegal dog fighting. Police have secured the associated video evidence.

The pet owner believed to be responsible for the abuse has been arrested. However, the investigations have not yet been completed.