Dozens of cats and dogs have been discovered dead in freezers at a property in Belgium.
Police and animal welfare officials made the gruesome discovery at an address in the city of La Louvière, located in the French-speaking region of Wallonia, The Brussels Times reported on Thursday.
Authorities had previously received reports of animal abuse at the property and subsequently conducted a search on Wednesday.
During the search, officers found several bags across numerous freezers containing the dead bodies of cats, dogs, kittens and even cat fetuses. In total, officials discovered 75 animal corpses in the freezers.
"The climax of horror was reached when agents in the Wallonian region discovered dozens of bodies of cats and dogs in several freezers. There are so many it is impossible to even count them in one place," the Society Against Cruelty to Animals (SPA) in La Louvière wrote in a Facebook post.
Several of the dead kittens only appeared to be a few hours old, while some of the older animals were in an advanced state of decomposition, the SPA added.
"The animals were found in a somewhat isolated house—a house so dirty that it could be declared unsanitary and, therefore, uninhabitable," SPA President Gaëtan Sgualdino told Newsweek. "Waste, urine and animal droppings are ubiquitous in this house."
The discovery of the dead animals caused distress among some of the animal welfare officials and police who responded to the scene, with the SPA describing the act as an "abomination."
"From the veterinary inspector's memory, we had never seen such a situation," the SPA wrote in its Facebook post. "Facing this horrific picture, a police officer was seen struggling to contain his emotion and a few tears."
Facebook users expressed their horror in the comments below the SPA's post, which contained images of the dead animals.
"All these little angels who suffered so much!! Disgraceful!! I hope they are punished to a very harsh extent!!" one user, Chantal Hourdeau, wrote.
"But how is such a horror even possible???" another user asked.
During the search, police also seized 25 cats that were still alive, albeit showing signs that they had been "abused and neglected," according to the SPA. The living cats were subsequently taken to animal shelters across the region, although there are concerns that some will not survive due to their poor health.
"The cats were in very poor condition—one had his ear ripped off, another had his eye pierced and another lost a leg. It is clear that they have been mistreated here. Their environment here was an apocalypse, with heaps of garbage and excrement. It was total horror. It is downright animal abuse, even torture," Sgualdino told Het Laatste Nieuws, a Dutch-language newspaper.
No details have been disclosed about the identity of the property's occupants. However, police are due to interview witnesses in relation to the case, state broadcaster RTBF reported.
Update, 06/19/23, 9:47 a.m. ET: This story was updated to include additional comments from SPA President Gaëtan Sgualdino.
Do you have an animal or nature story to share with Newsweek? Do you have a question about animal abuse? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Aristos is a Newsweek science reporter with the London, U.K., bureau. He reports on science and health topics, including; animal, ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
