In a deeply upsetting case of animal cruelty, 10 red-eared terrapins were found yesterday in a Hong Kong hospital’s outdoor pond, stabbed with pencils.
Police have launched an investigation into who dumped the creatures at the Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital in Chai Wan.
Of the 10 found, six were dead, and four were severely injured, according to a spokesperson from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).
“Around 10.30pm they discovered injured turtles in their pond, so they called us at 11.30am. SPCA inspectors arrived on site at 12pm,” they said.
“Each of them, except for one, had a pencil stabbed through their bodies, either be it through the tail to head or through the mouth.”
The surviving turtles were taken for treatment at the SPCA’s center Wan Chai.
Sadly, the incident comes not long after a similar find in the same area on September 20, when two turtles were found in a plastic bag — one injured and the other dead.
The SPCA spokesperson said police would sift through CCTV footage in a bid to find out who was responsible.
