Saga Hell Hole

Saga Hell Hole

Breeders are rife in Japan, all bent on making money from the pet
boom. Although from June 2007, they will have to be registered and
have their premises inspected, it is difficult to believe that the
local authorities who are lazy and indifferent to animal abuse. will
really check these places and see that standards are maintained.

A recent case in Saga Prefecture in the backwaters of Kyushu
illustrates how lax the authorities are. The breeder in question has
been operating for 15 years and his place is a hell-hole; dogs,
chained or in cages, unable to escape their prisons, living on top of
piles of feces and hair, other perched on pallets surrounded by a
stagnant lake of fetid feces and rainwater, without adequate food and
water, never exercised and waiting to die. Skeletons and corpses
litter the place and nobody will ever know how many dogs have died
there. The authorities have known about this breeder for some time,
they know about the conditions, they know that dogs die there, they
know that this breeder has never vaccinated his dogs against rabies
thereby contravening the Rabies Control Law, and yet they have done
nothing. About 150 dogs, mostly Akitas and Shibas face a lingering
death.

On 13th December 2006, we flew from Itami to Saga. The breeder’s
place is set among mikan orchards which are a feature of that area.
It composed of one main building with some roofed areas off it and
many enclosures/cages containing dogs, scatter around. At the
entrance was a red setter chained on slatted wood pallet with barely
a roof over him. Next to him was an Akita, chained without roof or
kennel. neither dogs had food and the water bowls only had a drop of
water due to the fact it had rained the previous two days. Under the
roofed area outside the main building were several dogs chained,
standing on pallets in a sea of urine, feces and rainwater. There
was obviously no drainage.

Around the building were enclosures of misery. Dogs chained or in
cages, standing on months if not years of feces and hair. Empty dirty
food bowls and empty water bowls encrusted with green algae. The
expressions on the dogs’ faces told of their suffering. These dogs
had probably never been off their chains or out of their cages for
months. The length of the dogs’ claws indicated they had never been
exercised. One or two of the chained dogs had swelling around their
necks where the chains had dug into the neck. One Beagle was running
around with half a chain dangling from its collar, it had probably
rubbed the chain so many times in its efforts to escape,that the
chain had broken. The dogs were mainly Shibas and Akitas plus one of
each; Beagle, Setter, Papillon, Corgi, unidentified possibly Poodle
with skin disease and two Shelties. I estimated there to be around
80-90 dogs in all.
I was unable to enter the main building as it was locked but managed
to walk around the outside. The far end was open and I could see many
dogs chained or in cages inside.
In the pools of feces and rainwater were bones of dogs and at the
entrance were about seven dog skulls and other bones plus a rotting
dog corpse full of worms. the stench was awful. I have seen many hell-
holes in Japan but I think this one is the worst, I have ever
encountered.

I feel we have no other options except to prosecute this cruel
breeder and also Saga Prefecture of neglect to use their powers and
office to prevent the suffering of so many dogs.

You can help by asking friends and relatives abroad to contact the Japanese Embassy in their country to push Saga Prefecture to take action against this cruel breeder.