27 more dogs found dead in Tochigi

When they progress to animals, eventually people will be targeted. They need to find this person quickly.

shonanbb this is almost certainly discarded animals from a puppy mill. I find it very unlikely that a person would walk around bundle up dozens of small dogs and dump them in a river. I would assume these are dogs that failed to sell at a pet store, were returned and then promptly culled (gassed). It's not uncommon and except from the dumping, nor illegal.

I don't think we're dealing with a random criminal here, but rather a pet store, or perhaps a supplier. Just look at the breeds, those are the three most popular in Japan right now. Whatever the circumstances, this is obviously appalling, and will hopefully bring increased attention on the despicable state of the pet industry in this country.

Thats a lot of animals. I can't say I particularly like dogs but this is seriously cold-hearted.

It's what happens when puppies are looked on as nothing more than merchandise. There should be much, much stricter legal restrictions on the breeding and marketing of animals and heavy penalties for those found guilty of running puppy mills, indeed for all counts of animal cruelty.

There's big money involved, though, so I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for it to happen. Never, ever buy a puppy or kitten from a pet shop; you could well be giving your money to the kind of scum who chucks 'unwanted merchandise' down an embankment, and encouraging the scum to breed more wretched animals.

Your average pet store visitor is painfully unaware that those cute, ultra-expensive quadrupeds have a limited shelf-life and are disposed of if not sold by a certain date. Shameful. Breaks my heart to even walk by one of these places.

There's a special ring in hell for animal killers.

Could be a tip of the iceberg. This is cruel and moronic. It should be treated as a felony and not a misdemeanor.

Shame on Japan! The atrocities committed against cats & dogs year in year out is way beyond criminal, the pet industry stinks to high hell.

The perps need to be found & jailed, but unlikely to happen though as yakuza are even involved in this stuff. The keystones wont be wanting to leave their kobans to deal with this!

@ harvey pekar at Nov. 06, 2014 - 05:04PM JST There's a special ring in hell for animal killers.

Yes there was a movie out years ago name All dogs go to heaven! So may they too RIP

Gotta be a puppy mill gone bust.

Meanwhile, local media reported Thursday that five other toy poodles were still alive and had been placed into protective care.

Can anybody enlighten me as to where he live poodles came from? Are they even related to this article?

Can anybody enlighten me as to where he live poodles came from? Are they even related to this article?

According to Sankei News, the five bitches were with the 27 dead bodies. Presumably it was the barking these dogs were doing that people complained about that got the Animal Protection Centre involved.

http://www.sankei.com/life/news/141105/lif1411050026-n1.html

That's what happens when you love dogs as a product.

I wonder if anyone has thought to check them for microchips? Our dog, bought from a reputable store, had one when we got him at age 3 mos. Chances are the older dogs had them, had they had owners at some point.

Such chips could be used to track where they came from/vet office.

I was just wondering this morning what happens to the animals of elderly people who die and there is no one willing to take their dog or cat. I hate to think of what is done to these once-beloved pets.

I see dozens of dogs every day and very few are mixed breeds such as are common outside Japan. I am not aware of any source for a dog outside of these shops so widely condemned in this commentary. How else (though we're out of the market!) to get a great dog like ours?

Hunter, very few people here microchip their pets. We had one pup done as soon as the system started in our prefecture, and at that time the local veterinary association were offering ¥2000 cash-back for the first thousand dogs microchipped. Seven years later, we had another pup microchipped - and were still eligible for the cash-back.

I think all cats and dogs should be microchipped and registered at birth, with failure to do so carrying stiff fines.

There are reputable breeders out there, or you could look here - http://www.satoya-boshu.net/keisai/d.htm That's where our present cat and dog both came from.

That's horrific... how can any sane person kill that many dogs? Killing one is bad enough, but 40 and then another 27? Horrible.

Shame on ANYONE who buys an animal from a pet store. Such ignorance running rampart. The people that spend 200,000 yen on a little accessory have no idea the horrible things that go on in these Japanese pet stores and puppy mills behind them.

@ Disillusioned... those were my thoughts exactly. Looks like a puppy mill going out of business, or getting rid of old/unsellable inventory. I wonder how other puppy mills and pet stores get rid of the dogs they can't sell. Probably euthanize and cremate.

Killing one is bad enough, but 40 and then another 27? Horrible. go to any animal shelter and they put down at least this many pets daily, only they dispose of the bodies properly. i was thinking if it was in Korea you could probably sell the meat to restaurants.

One has to believe that this "dog killer" will be found soon. There has to be a trail... how could somebody have so many dogs without anyone knowing about it.

What Police officers are doing? They need to catch that crazy sinister. I'm wondering whether someone has reported to Police about lost dog or not. If no one has reported for lost dog and then the dogs may come from illegal Puppy factory. Whatever reason gruesome killing the dogs is really sick. It shouldn’t be happened in country like Japan. Being dog owner, reading this news was really hurt me. I have two dogs and I’ll never harm them.

Every one, read this site: http://www.vier-pfoten.org/en/campaigns/companion-animals/the-dog-mafia/

Selling dogs as "commodity" is OK in our Capitalism world. It encourages people to do anything for saving money, making money and producing more profit. Let's think this concept carefully how we treat animals and people (even among ourselves) to make money.

There are good pet shops/breeders and bad ones. It's ignorant to lump all of them together, just as there are good and bad in every segment of human society.

I got my dog from a reputable pet shop (from reputable breeders) and my pup is a key family member. And, no, I would never put a microchip in my pets any sooner than into a human child. Put a chip in yourself if you like.

I do hope the horrible person(s) who did this are identified and prosecuted. I also am caretaker to a couple dogs who were rescued, a sweet multi-breed pack of loyal friends. Humans suck by comparison.

Instead of killing all these unsold but lovely and innocent creatures, why not give them to people who are in need of a companion in their solitary life. I bet the oldies from the countrysiide would love to take care of them.

Shame on ANYONE who buys an animal from a pet store. Such ignorance running rampart. The people that spend 200,000 yen on a little accessory have no idea the horrible things that go on in these Japanese pet stores and puppy mills behind them.

Rightly said. If you really want a cat or dog, make sure you have time to look after them, ask yourself whether you are a responsible person, and then find an animal shelter instead of a pet shop. Put these out of business. They won't thrive if there is no demand.

JohnG,

I think its a VERY safe bet the majority of pet shops in Japan are IN on the puppy mill thing, the only way in Japan to tell if a breeder is reputable is to VISIT them & see for yourself.

Most of the paperwork supposedly showing a dogs history in Japan is simply BS, not worth the paper its printed on. Its been a while since I have read up on these issues but I do re-call that dog associations outside Japan warn any body buying any dog from Japan that its extremely highly likely the paper work is fiction & LOTS of inbreeding

Bottom line is its a dirty nasty business in Japan, DO NOT BUY from pet stores!

There are good pet shops/breeders and bad ones.

Breeders, yes. When we bought our first dog in Japan many many years ago, a Lab, the breeder insisted we meet face-to-face and answer a whole slew of questions about our fitness as dog owners, and we kept in touch, exchanging New Year cards, etc., during the life of the dog. He was keenly interested in how the dog was doing, and told us he was not prepared to let his 'babies' go to just anyone who had the money.

Contrast that with the breeders who send their puppies and kittens to pet shops. The breeders obviously don't care who buys the animals; they're nothing more than merchandise. There is no direct contact with the new owners, no attempt to check up on the animals' welfare. They also have no qualms about separating the babies from their mothers far too early, just to get them in the window at their cuddly cutest. Truly reputable pet shops sell no live animals, just pet food, toys and accessories.

I would never put a microchip in my pets any sooner than into a human child.

A human child that gets lost can tell people its name, maybe even its address, and thus find its way home; a pet can't. Collars and tags can come off, and in Japan if you don't find your lost pet within 7 days, it's likely to be 'disposed of'. If a microchip (inserted painlessly when the animal is anaesthetised for spay/neuter) can prevent that, it seems irresponsible not to make the most of the technology available.

If they ever catch who's responsible, hopefully they will put their photos on every TV show and on the front page of every newspaper. However, it's doubtful that they'll do any prison time in Japan, probably just a slap on the wrist as far as punishment goes.

I imagine its a pet shop gone bankrupt.

It seems pretty certain now that it is a back-street breeder. Yahoo! News is saying that many of the dogs show signs of having given birth multiple times, and from the state of the bodies it is clear that they were kept in abysmal conditions, in cages. None of the dogs, all aged between 5 and 10, were spayed or neutered, and some of them were infected with filaria.

This makes me so angry.

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20141107-00000027-san-l09

I hope they catch the scum responsible for this & actually do something!

If this is a business doing this then they are scum, pure and simple. I can't believe that they would kill so many poor dogs purely because they have given birth to puppies countless times. We tamed wolves to be our companions, sheepdogs and hunters... and this is how their descendants are treated... like garbage once their usefulness is over. Sickening.

go to any animal shelter and they put down at least this many pets daily, only they dispose of the bodies properly. i was thinking if it was in Korea you could probably sell the meat to restaurants.

That's pretty sick, mate.

The Yahoo! news article also notes that due to changes in the animal protection laws, the hokenjo can now refuse to accept for 'disposal' animals brought in 'for no valid reason', and that breeders who in the past would bring in dozens of unwanted animals every year have stopped trying to dump their animals on the hokenjo for the Prefecture to dispose of. It's my guess that some 'enterprising' person has started a business of taking these animals off the hands of breeders (for a price, I imagine) and is dumping them. The unacceptable face of unbridled free enterprise, but it underlines the fact that until recently all these animals were being disposed of on the QT, behind closed doors, on the taxpayers' coin.

Someone knows who is doing this. All it needs is for one of them to discover a conscience and come forward.

I agree with Cleo NOV. 07, 2014 - 03:52PM JST. "A human child that gets lost can tell people its name, maybe even its address, and thus find its way home; a pet can't. Collars and tags can come off, and in Japan if you don't find your lost pet within 7 days, it's likely to be 'disposed of'. If a microchip (inserted painlessly when the animal is anaesthetised for spay/neuter) can prevent that, it seems irresponsible not to make the most of the technology available." There is a pet organization: https://microchipregistry.foundanimals.org/ If your dog has miscrochip, you can register your pet. The people in the world can find your dog (and other pets) when you lost your pet. It is so much better than having your dog killed in a shelter.

And to those that don't know about the reality of pets in Japan just put: japan puppy mills into google!

couple links here:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/dog-death-row-sunday-mirror-87219

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/28/business/28dogs.html?pagewanted=all

So insane to kill these tiny cute looking creatures, which will cause no harm to anyone.

Just heard on the radio news that some 39-year-old 'former pet-shop worker' has admitted to dumping dead dogs. The story is that he 'received' them (alive) from a breeder in Aichi Prefecture with the intention of selling or giving them to people who wanted dogs; he put them in a wooden box to transport them, then dumped the bodies when he found they'd died. Yeah right.

He's being charged with violating the dumping laws, animal protection laws, river pollution laws, hygiene laws and, hopefully, a whole bookful of other laws.