On the directions of the Mangadu Panchayat, 56 dogs have been executed in two days by injecting them with a lethal liquid that would kill the curs in 15 minutes. A post-mortem is now being done to know what kind of poison was used.

The incident came to light on Wednesday after Dawn Williams of the Blue Cross of India (Chennai) got a call that dogs were being killed in a mass culling operation in Mangadu’s Moulivakkam area.

Dawn Williams said, “I did a headcount to know the number of dogs; there were 23 dogs and 11 puppies being taken in a tractor to be killed. Four men and a woman were on the job while the tractor driver and helper aided them.”

“Sambandam the tractor driver later told me that he had dumped another 22 dogs, killed in a similar fashion, on Tuesday morning,” added Dawn.