Two people, one of them a woman greyhound trainer, have been arrested in Australia after at least 55 dog carcasses were found dumped in Queensland bush.
Two Bundaberg residents, a 71-year old man and a 64-year old woman, were each charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm, ABC News reported today.
The woman, a licensed trainer, was also charged with obstructing police.
Michael Beatty, spokesman for RSPCA Queensland, said that inquiries were continuing. The animal rights organisation is assisting Queensland police in their investigation.
"A lot of people in the area who were involved in the greyhound industry were questioned, and it was as a result of information given to us that the joint Queensland Police Service and RSPCA investigation team made those arrests," CNN quoted Beatty as saying.
Queensland Police Minister Jo-Ann Miller had described the discovery of the carcasses, which followed a tip-off from a member of the public, as sickening.
"What I believe has happened here has been the mass murder of 55 greyhounds outside of Bundaberg," she said yesterday.
She promised a zero tolerance approach to animal abuse.
"The people who have perpetrated this crime, to me, are oxygen thieves, they are cowards and they are pathetic."
Detective Superintendent Mark Ainsworth said the crime scene was "nothing short of abhorrent."
"Some of the greyhounds were in different states of decay and that would sort of indicate to us that they've been dumped there over varying periods of time," he said.
"The postmortem will reveal the cause of death of these dogs. However I will comment that a number of spent .22 cartridge shells were found in the vicinity."
He said there had been a number of bush-fires in the area surrounding the dumping site, which would also be factored into the investigation.
Beatty said it appeared the dogs would have been culled by people involved in greyhound racing.
"There's always been a lot of wastage in the greyhound industry," he said in a statement.
Australia's greyhound racing industry has been under intense scrutiny since a television investigation found the illegal use of live bait in training dogs aired in February.
Racing Queensland did not respond to a request for comment, CNN said.
