Three puppies were rescued from starvation after they were abandoned in a former lepers' hospital in Għargħur that had become a dog cemetery, littered with carcasses and rotting body parts.

Abandoned Animals Association president Freddie Fenech said he received an anonymous tip-off on Tuesday evening, alerting him about the place. He called the police who accompanied him on site. When they arrived, they could barely take in the sight: carcasses and skeletons of dogs scattered here and there.

In certain parts the stench was unbearable. The 20-roomed barrack-like complex is derelict, with rubbish lying everywhere. Whoever was responsible for leaving the dogs there was not around during the raid.

There were the remains of at least five dogs but it cannot be said for certain because some of the body parts found scattered could have come from different animals.

There was even the bloated body of a dog which had died very recently.

Inside, they found three lonely pups, about three months old, hidden under a cupboard. They were scared and it took them a while until they ventured out from their hiding place, even after Mr Fenech offered some food in a plate he had brought with him. They would be vaccinated and flown to Germany, Mr Fenech said.