Two dogs were brutally killed at Il-Maqluba in Qrendi when someone tied them together and left them hanging from a tree.

The gruesome scene was discovered by a reader some days ago while trekking along the bottom part of the land depression.

One end of the rope was tied to the leg of a large dog and the other end was fastened around the neck of a smaller one. The rope was strung across a branch.

The dogs were badly decomposed.

In the vicinity the reader also came across the skull of a cow and a white sack dangling from a tree, which he suspected contained dead kittens, but he did not venture to check because of the stench.

The bottom part of Il-Maqluba is not easily accessible since the path going down is obstructed by rocks. Anybody making it to the bottom would have to climb down the last part of the rock face.

Qrendi mayor Carmel Falzon was aware of the shocking find because a report was lodged with the council.

“The council passed on the report to the police, the cleansing department and the civil protection since we do not have the capacity to clean it up,” he said.

When contacted, a spokesman for the Animal Welfare Department said they were unaware of the incident but would be investigating.