Mass killing of dogs at Wellsford farm
A dispute between two neighbors has led to the slaughter of 33 dogs in 20 minutes.
image source : nzherald.co.nz/ Greg Bowker
nzherald.co.nz
Some were maimed first in the “bloody, rifle-killing frenzy” before being “finished off”, the police say.
Others were shot inside their cage or hit by ricocheting bullets. Still more were shot at point-blank range.
The youngest were 3 weeks old.
The SPCA is investigating whether the animals were killed humanely, or if charges should be laid.
The dispute, on a rural road in Wellsford in Rodney District, unfolded on Monday when a fox terrier belonging to Russell Mendoza was discovered dead after apparently being mauled by another animal.
Police say he blamed one or more of the 39 dogs owned by his neighbour, Rowan Hargreaves.
Mr Hargreaves, who kept the animals on his 5ha block in an old quarry, did not believe they were to blame. However, a day earlier he had shot one after discovering it had attacked a sheep.
