Dogs and cats, living and dead, are being used as shark bait by amateur fishers on the island of Réunion under French administration, revealed organizations defending the rights of animals and local authorities.
| The small volcanic island off the east coast of Africa is full of stray dogs, more than 150,000, says Reha Hutin, president of the Paris-based Fondation 30 Millions d'Amis. Hutin sent a film crew to Réunion this summer to obtain proof that live animals were being used as shark bait in order to expose the practice on defense of animal rights organization on television . It did not take long for the team discovered three cases, she said. A videotape and photographs show the dogs with multiple hooks sunk deep into their paws and muzzle. "From then on everyone started to take the situation seriously and realized it was true." A veterinarian successfully treated one of the dogs, the dog six months of age with a hook on the nose you see in the picture above, the SPA (Société des Animaux Protectrice) the capital of Réunion, St.-Denis.v Unlike Most of the animals used in this practice, the dog was the pet of someone reveals Saliha Hadj-Djilani, a reporter for TV program. The dog had apparently escaped its captors and was taken to the SPA for a concerned citizen. Fully recovered, the animal is now back home and its owners. The other two cases were discovered by the French organization stray animals, now living in France with new owners. The Foundation plans to finance a sterilization program for stray animals on the island to reduce the excess of these animals but will not be an easy task. Hutin said many locals view the strays as vermin, "the life of a stray dog has no value there." Stephanie Roche of the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, another animal rights group based in Paris, confirmed that live animals were being used as bait on the island of Réunion. But, she believes, it is not a common practice. Bardot The organization has been fighting the practice for a decade but this is the first time that politicians of Réunion reacted strongly and swiftly to end this practice, says Roche. Last month, it became illegal for fishing boats to transport dogs and cats, living or dead. The French embassy in Washington, DC, issued a written statement condemning the use of dogs as shark bait, emphasizing that such acts are illegal and will not be tolerated on French territory. The embassy maintains these are "very isolated cases and authorities on the island are monitoring the situation closely." Earlier this month held the first process in which one fisherman was accused of using live dogs as bait. Authorities found a dog is seven months old at the property of John Claude Clain in July, with three hooks stuck in his paws and muzzle. Clain, a delivery of bread with 51, was found guilty of animal cruelty and fined € 5000, reports the local newspaper Clicanoo. However, the amateur fisherman claims that it used the dog as bait but the animal had been caught in a trap for protection of poultry. Clain's case is not unique, said Fabienne Jouve of GRAAL (Groupement Reflexion et d'Action pour l'Animal), an advocacy organization for animal rights based in Charenton-le-Pont, France. "Lately, almost every week, we have found dogs with hooks on the island, not to mention cats found on the beaches and partially eaten by sharks." Once fishers capture the animals, put them immediately hooks, "or at least the day before, enough to bleed." Some escape before being thrown overboard, others not so lucky. After the hooks are placed on the feet and / or noses, the animals are attached to inflatable tubes with fishing line and dropped into the sea, reports the Clicanoo. To avoid detection, the fishermen put bait in the middle of the night and return in the morning to see if a shark seized. "This kind of barbaric practice has no kind of excuse in the XXI century," said Jouve. The American organization Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Friday Harbor, Washington State, is offering a reward of $ 1,000 to police officers of Réunion which holds people who use dogs and cats as shark bait. Both the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in the UK, as the Fondation 30 Millions d'Amis is appealing to animal lovers to sign a petition demanding the French government to implement legal action against the use of dogs and cats alive as bait for sharks. The American organization Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Friday Harbor, Washington State, is offering a reward of $ 1,000 to police officers of Réunion which holds people who use dogs and cats as shark bait. Both the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in the UK, as the Fondation 30 Millions d'Amis is appealing to animal lovers to sign a petition demanding the French government to implement legal action against the use of dogs and cats alive as bait for sharks. The American organization Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Friday Harbor, Washington State, is offering a reward of $ 1,000 to police officers of Réunion which holds people who use dogs and cats as shark bait. Both the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in the UK, as the Fondation 30 Millions d'Amis is appealing to animal lovers to sign a petition demanding the French government to implement legal action against the use of dogs and cats alive as bait for sharks. The American organization Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Friday Harbor, Washington State, is offering a reward of $ 1,000 to police officers of Réunion which holds people who use dogs and cats as shark bait. Both the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in the UK, as the Fondation 30 Millions d'Amis is appealing to animal lovers to sign a petition demanding the French government to implement legal action against the use of dogs and cats alive as bait for sharks. 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