Inhumane Dog Slaughter in Mauritius
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In 2016, Tracks obtained footage for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and International Animal Rescue (IAR) revealing the capture and killing of a large number of dogs in Mauritius.
Over 1.2 million people have viewed our investigative footage and over 230,000 people have signed a petition calling for an immediate end to the government's ineffective and cruel 'catch and kill' dog control method and for the introduction of a humane dog management programme in Mauritius.
Our Findings
The footage shows workers from the government-funded Mauritian Society for Animal Welfare violently catching a large number of dogs. The workers then take them to a facility in Port Louis, where as many as 20 of them are killed in full view of one another. While one worker throws the dogs to the ground and stands on them to hold them in place, another administers a lethal injection – an apparent attempt to puncture the heart – without prior anesthetics, making their deaths utter agony.
After being injected, the dogs stagger around and eventually collapse, while the remaining ones try desperately to escape by climbing the gates and walls of the kennel.
“Anyone with a trace of humanity will find this footage unbearable to watch”, says IAR CEO Alan Knight. ”It is chilling to observe the callous indifference of the dog killers towards their victims. Mauritius promotes itself as a paradise island for international holidaymakers, but instead it is a veritable hell on earth for dogs.”
“Homeless dogs have a hard enough time surviving as it is, without being hunted down and killed in painful ways”, adds PETA Director Elisa Allen. “The only civilised and effective way to curb the population of stray dogs is to prevent more puppies from being born in the first place by implementing a comprehensive spay-and-neuter programme – which is precisely what we’re calling on the Mauritian government to do.”
PETA and IAR launched a petition to the Mauritius government calling for an immediate end to cruel methods of killing dogs on the island and for the introduction of a comprehensive, humane sterilisation programme.
Investigation featured in multiple media outlets including:
Tracks Investigations has undertaken over 295 investigative film projects supporting over 40 conservation, environmental and animal protection NGOs since its inception in 2006. Learn more about how you can work with us here. To support our investigative work for animals, click here.