Animal Cruelty: Poland, Klobucku: Dog Lard Death Farm

It is strange how we often stumble across information these days, isn't it. The Internet has opened the door to a vast store of information some good, some bad and some that is plainly nonsense. However what you often find is that you glimpse a whole other world which would never be reported in the news, that you view at home.

Looking for an RSS Feed for my Austria review, in particular news and or weather information, I came across the Austrian times. It held some of what I was looking for but my eye was caught by a headline which read "Dog Lard Death Farm". This sounds to terrible but of course the headline could have been wrong or misleading. Unfortunately it was neither.

A neighbour of this farm finally alerted the police saying that "dogs that were often too fat to stand" were being kept at this farm in Poland. The informant also told the police that these dogs were being systematically electrocuted quite brutally. The police raid found a scene of horror and discovered disturbing details.

A blood stained axe and clothes showed all to well some of what had been happening. This barbaric slaughterhouse still had dozens of obese caged dogs, the remains of the butchered dogs, pelts and remains of cats which indicated cats had also been slain, metal electrocution rods and more.

A large syringe next to the cages completed the story. A means of collecting fat?. A means of fattening up the animals?. The mind boggles. Bottles which it is believed contained the fat of the slaughtered animals were undergoing forensic testing on Friday, 7th August 2009, to determine if it really is dog and, or, cat fat.

As a final insult, it is believed, this fat was being manufactured and sold as an organic health product. It was sold as lard and soap.

Unbelievable, but of course, unfortunately it is not.

All too many of these stories of cruelty are coming to light these days. With people often experiencing economic meltdown some turn their hand to anything that makes them money. Whatever turns someone into the kind of monster that follows such a path, as shown in this hub, though is hard to understand. Of course as an animal lover I never will. There are always other alternatives if people need money.

It is more likely that the person or people involved were just greedy. They may have found a lucrative way of making money and done just that. To be such low individuals though is hard to comprehend. In this the 21st Century I would have hoped that we were civilised enough to move one. I guess some of us are not.

All I can conclude is that there will always be people around who will abuse the power they have over animals and it is up to those us who care to try and stop them. Please stay vigilant and if you suspect that anything toward is happening, for example, in the area where you live, contact the authorities.

The final step that is also needed though is appropriate sentencing and one can only hope that it is meted out in this instance.

A representative of Poland's Foundation for Animals said: "I can't imagine what horrors have been committed here." and sadly neither can I or maybe I can.

Having originally simply found this story in the RSS Feed for the Austrian Times I have found that it appears to be reported more fully now. The BBC website had further details.

Hold on to your hat. The farmer is a 37 year old woman. This person has extolled the virtues of her product and its health benefits. She told inspectors that she adds a spoonful of the fat to her daughter's meal each day.

Of course for her the other benefit is it is lucrative. Apparently half a litre of the fat retails at 37 Euros which is about $53 or £31. There were bottles of fat in the woman's fridge which are still being analyzed.

This story beggars belief from start to finish but I have no doubt it will not be the last such story. If convicted  it is expected this woman will receive a two year prison sentence. Not long enough by a long stretch.

The pain and suffering this woman has caused deserves a much stiffer sentence.