8/14/2019 New Zealand 33 Dogs Massacred in Rifle Killing Frenzy

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33 dogs massacred in rifle killing frenzy'New Zealandf 

4:00 AM Thursday Jan 28, 2010

Rowan Hargreaves says the dogs were 'my family'.

The police say they have never received any

complaints about the animals. Photo / Greg

Bowker

A dispute between two neighbours has led to theslaughter of 33 dogs.

Some were maimed first in the "bloody, rifle-killing frenzy"before being "finished off", the police say.

Others were shot inside their cage or hit by ricochetingbullets. Still more were shot at point-blank range.

The youngest were 3 weeks old.

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The SPCA is investigating whether the animals were killed

humanely, or if charges should be laid.

The dispute, on a rural road in Wellsford in RodneyDistrict, unfolded on Monday when a fox terrier belongingto Russell Mendoza was discovered dead after apparentlybeing mauled by another animal.

Police say he blamed one or more of the 39 dogs ownedby his neighbour, Rowan Hargreaves.

Mr Hargreaves, who kept the animals on his 5ha block inan old quarry, did not believe they were to blame.However, a day earlier he had shot one after discovering ithad attacked a sheep.

He said he had never before had any trouble with hisdogs getting out.

Mr Hargreaves, a mechanic who lives alone in a broken-down truck surrounded by car wrecks, said that after Mr Mendoza buried the fox terrier, he and another manarrived, armed with a .22 rifle and a 12-gauge shotgun.

They handed Mr Hargreaves a note for him to sign sayinghe agreed to their shooting the rest of his dogs.

He said he signed the letter because he felt "under enormous pressure".

He then stood behind a shack to shield himself from the"bloodbath".

Yesterday, holding back tears, he described the sounds of his dogs being shot - sounds that echoed off the quarrywalls for 20 minutes.

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"They were screaming, making sounds dogs just don't

make. When one was gone, the others knew they'd benext, but they had nowhere to go."

In all, 23 pups and young dogs, which slept in Mr Hargreaves' truck, were shot, as were a male and femaledog living in a van wreck and eight adult dogs housed in akennel. They were shot through the grating.

Four pups hiding under their mother in the van survived,as did two other dogs the shooters didn't see.

These six were taken to Mr Hargreaves' workshop inWellsford, but one later died. None of the dogs had beenregistered.

Mr Hargreaves' business partner, Richard Hawkings,watched the killings but was powerless to help.

The SPCA took away some of the slain animals, andyesterday Mr Hargreaves was digging a grave in thequarry to bury the rest.

Mr Mendoza would not speak to the Herald, on legaladvice.

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Senior Constable Barry Rose said he found 66 riflecartridges and seven shotgun shells on the property.He could see dozens more among the dead dogs,

which were "piled on top of one another" in the

corner, where they had cowered to avoid the gunfire.

"I think [the gunmen] went absolutely ballistic and leteverything go until the last one stopped squealing.

"I would liken it to a gung-ho on a bloody, rifle-killingfrenzy.

"I've been in this job for over 35 years and this is the first

time I've ever come across something like this."

Mr Rose said one of the shooters did not have afirearms licence. A decision had yet to be made onwhether he would be prosecuted.

Police had received no complaints about Mr Hargreaves' dogs, he said.

Neighbours the Herald spoke to had not heard of anydispute between Mr Mendoza and Mr Hargreaves, andnone had had any trouble with the dogs. The animals, allmongrels, were the offspring of a single breeding pair.

Mr Hargreaves had recently arranged to drop several off to the SPCA to be housed elsewhere.

Asked why he had had so many dogs, Mr Hargreavessaid they were "my family".

SPCA executive director Bob Kerridge said twoinvestigators had visited the property and would determinewhether the dogs suffered before they died. A decisionwould then be made on whether to charge the gunmen.Wilful ill-treatment carries a penalty of up to three years'

 jail.

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