When police arrived at a traffic accident in Imus, Philippines last week, they made a gruesome discovery: 72 slaughtered dogs were found in the back of a truck. The dogs had been gutted and their fur and skin burned off, on their way to be sold in the cruel and illegal dog meat trade.
The perpetrators fled the scene, and remain on the run. They are thought to be a man named Terry Baybay and two unidentified companions.
Selling dog meat is illegal in the Philippines. But this ban is not strictly enforced, and hundreds of thousands of dogs are killed every year for their meat.
Cruel dog meat smugglers round up strays or steal family dogs (many still wearing their collars), often shipping them to the Benguet Province, where dog meat is rampant. The dogs are often tortured as smugglers put tin cans over their mouths and tie their legs behind their back. The dogs are then clubbed in the head or have their throats cut, suffering a slow, painful death.
