This inhumane and disgusting practice is carried out in Réunion Island, a territory controlled by France, situated in the Indian Ocean, just off the coast of Southern Africa, east of Madagascar.
The story went viral as soon because it was published by The Sun. Consistent with British newspapers, stray dogs were hooked and dragged to the boat as live shark bait. The article also reports the dog in the photo – a six-month-old Labrador puppy, was discovered with huge hooks embedded in his snout and one through his leg. This helpless dog was found in a coastal stream, and some people believe it actually managed to get rid of the rope.cord.
The story has caused tons of turmoil and controversy – because many of us still don't believe this practice actually occurs, claiming images just like the ones above are doctored with. Alerted by this incident, the French embassy in Washington D.C. has claimed it hasn't any knowledge of the practice, but claimed that if it was true, it might be at a way smaller scale than the press initially reported. In 2006, a newspaper from Réunion came forward and admitted the practice is true, but claimed the news was blown out of proportion. For instance, while admitting the practice does happen, it doesn’t appear to be widespread, which it's only administered by a gaggle of amateur local fishermen instead of professional fishermen, as reported at first. The newspaper also reports that the dogs that are utilized in the baiting process aren't actually alive, but rather strays that have passed away; as well, the lifeless dogs were attached to specially built “shark trap” platforms and weren't dragged behind boats.
Years after this story became public, the reality has yet to be revealed.
Snopes.com, a well-liked website used for tracking down hoaxes, claims this story may be a mixture of truth and false information.
We, the undersigned, are extremely concerned about the security and wellbeing of the dogs on the Reunion Island and hereby urge authorities to begin a compulsory and thorough investigation into this matter. If the practice does end up to be true, we request that each the people responsible are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Reunion Island is governed by French and EU laws – where such practices are forbidden.
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