38 French bulldog puppies found dead in plane cargo as part of 'horrific large-scale organized smuggling'
Canadian authorities have launched an investigation after 38 puppies were found dead in the cargo of an airplane.
Officials revealed on Saturday that over 500 puppies were on board the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) plane that landed at Toronto Pearson Airport. Abby Lorenzen, a dog handler who was picking up another animal from the airport cargo area where the puppies were found last Saturday, said it was equivalent to a "horror scene."
Speaking to CBC, she revealed there were 572 animals on board. However, it is unclear if other types of animals were also present.
"It was just a nightmare," Lorenzen said. "Canada and the federal government need to change the laws on the importation of these puppies," she added.
According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, many of the surviving dogs were suffering from dehydration, weakness, and vomiting after the flight from Ukraine landed in Toronto on June 13.
"Upon inspection, it was found that 38 were dead on arrival," a spokesperson wrote in a statement. "CFIA officials are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding this incident and will determine the next steps once the investigation is complete."
The pups found by authorities were French bulldogs, which is a rather popular breed in Canada. According to Scott Weese of the University of Guelph, puppy sales are "lucrative" in the country.
A number of animal welfare advocates have pointed out that the Toronto incident is barely an isolated one. According to them, this is just the latest in a series of incidents where flights from Ukraine and Eastern Europe are crammed with delicate puppies so they can be sold to unsuspecting owners.
Lucas Hixson of SPCA International spoke to CBC in an interview from Slavutych, Ukraine, where he is part of a rescue group called Dogs of Chernobyl.
"These commercial operations are run by large puppy mills that house and breed hundreds and thousands of dogs every year in typically unsterile conditions where the dogs are crammed together," he told the outlet.
"Traditionally for international animal transport you will not have space in the cargo hold for hundreds of animals," Hixson continued, explaining that the said flight was a glimpse into "the horrific large-scale organized smuggling of pups". "This commercial operation specifically chartered this plane to increase their bottom line, thereby putting those animals at risk."
Reports suggest it was at least 91.4F when the animals were loaded into the aircraft, with footage claiming to show them in crates in Kyiv making the rounds on social media.
"It is a big industry. There's no doubt about it. And it's been looked at more in the U.S. and there's potentially some organized crime component of it, too, in some areas," he told CBC. "There are lucrative situations where you can buy large numbers of dogs fairly cheaply. You mentioned 500 French bulldogs. If those are going for sale at $3,000 to $4,000 a dog, that's a massive amount of money," he added.
In a statement released to social media, UIA offered its "condolences for the tragic loss of animal life on our flight."
"UIA is working with local authorities to determine what happened and to make any changes necessary to prevent such a situation from occurring again," they added.
