WARSAW, Poland, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Prosecutors in Czestochowa, Poland, are investigating reports a farm is producing and selling dog lard, police said.
Polish authorities opened an inquiry into animal cruelty allegations after police and veterinary officers discovered what they described as a macabre farm outside Czestochowa where owners were overfeeding dogs to fatten them to the point where they had trouble walking, the New Poland Express online reported Monday.
Police said they found at least 20 dogs held in cages and found rotten remains of dogs, apparently cut with an axe, in farm sheds. A refrigerator contained jars of lard, which a farm woman said was pig fat.
Animal rights activists and police said dogs apparently were slaughtered for their lard, which was sold to locals as a delicacy, the Express reported.
There are places in Poland where dogs have been killed for their fat for generations, Renata Mizera, head of the Foundation For Animals said.
Mizera said some Poles believe dog lard is good for human lung illnesses and many other diseases.
But, it also apparently is good for business. A half-liter is sold for $52, the Express said.
