DOGS USED AS SHARK BAITS OR FRENCH ISLAND
Autor: MilaGoularte | Publicado: 2011-10-06T16:02:00-07:00



Written By: Fernando Morais Freitas &nbsp;&nbsp;  
      Qui, 26 de Maio de 2011 15:23
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.

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    o:title="dog"/>   <![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->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."&nbsp;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.All right reserved to:&nbsp;http://www.fondationbrigittebardot.fr