War grave experts exhume bodies of 100 sled dogs killed by tour operator in post Winter Olympics massacre

'Vet told owner' to cull huskies after business dropped

Killer 'in a haze', covered in blood and suffered trauma

Dogs 'wrestled to the ground and stood on'



A team of war grave experts have exhumed the remains of 100 sled dogs who were killed by a tour operator in a post Winter Olympics massacre.

The specialists, who have dug up graves in Rwanda and Iraq, will dig for the huskies near to the ski resort Whistler, Canada, at a cost of £142,000 ($225,000CAD).

In one of the world's biggest ever animal cruelty cases, the dogs are believed to have been shot and knifed to death by a company employee following the Winter Games, which was held at nearby Vancouver.

Mass grave: Scientists have had to wait until the winter's ice has completely thawed before investigating the husky deaths

The incident took place last April at Howling Dog Tours where tourists paid around £200 ($315CAD) for a three-hour, two-person sled ride through the valleys surrounding the town.



Each sled was towed by six dogs each, but the company found it had too many animals when bookings fell following the end of the Winter Olympics in February last year.

The killings came to light when the employee who carried out the cull was given compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder.



By the end of the slaughter the man - who said he was told to cull 100 of the 300 dogs after a local vet refused to destroy healthy animals, and he could not find new homes for them - was said to be killing dogs 'in a haze' and was covered in blood.

Cull: After the Winter Games Howling Dog Tours were told that 100 of 300 dogs were no longer needed - but that the vet would not assist

Scene of the crime: A sled dog rests at a kennel operated by Whistler Outdoor Adventures, who bought out Howling Dog Tours

The dogs were shot or had their throats slit, while those that proved hard to kill had to be 'wrestled to the ground and stood on' before they could be shot in the head.

Investigators have taken the unprecedented step and enlisted the team of forensic scientists, anthropologists and veterinarians for the dig.

With the ground now thawed after winter the mass grave specialists, including some involved in investigating Canadian serial prostitute killer Robert Pickton, will start by clearing the site today.

The forensic experts' past experiences also include the study of mass graves in Guatemala, Bosnia and Kosovo, Sri Lanka, East Timor and Afghanistan.

They will be looking for any evidence such as bone fragments, shell casings and knives that proved the dogs experienced pain and suffering before they were killed - findings that will be key if criminal charges are to be laid in the case.

Marcie Moriarty from the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said: 'This is one of the largest and most complex investigations the BC SPCA has ever undertaken.

Ski resort: The mass dog death took place near the slopes of Whistler

Empty: Kennels, once used by the killed dogs, make the gave site

'Because of the length of time that has passed since the incident occurred, it is necessary to employ painstaking, state-of-the-art forensic techniques to gather the evidence needed to pursue animal cruelty charges in the case.

'We are extremely fortunate to be working with such an experienced team, many of whom have been involved in large-scale, high-profile forensic investigations involving both human and animal remains.'



Before digging begins at the police-secured crime scene, the experts will clear and examine debris piled on top of the graves. They will then use lasers, probes, GPS and trench testing to determine its actual dimensions.

Excavation, which is expected to begin on Thursday, will involve removing the top two inches of soil before laying down a grid.



Miss Moriarty believes it will take three to four days for the teams to dig through each section of the grave by hand.

The remains will be photographed, and body parts will be moved to an on-site triage station for examination and x-rays. The bodies will then be refrigerated and transported to another location for necropsies.

'This process will take time but we want to ensure that every relevant piece of evidence is presented to Crown,' Miss Moriarty said.

The details of the killings were revealed in documents from the local health and safety body, which awarded the employee - who has not been named - undisclosed compensation for stress.

Previously he had put down sick dogs by taking them into the woods, giving them a meal and shooting them.



But the size of the cull meant he had to kill the animals in full view of other dogs.



By the time he had shot his fifteenth husky, he noticed the dogs were 'experiencing anxiety and stress', the documents revealed.

At one point the man shot but failed to kill a husky called Suzie - the mother of his own pet dog.



'He had to chase Suzie through the yard because the horrific noise she made when wounded caused him to drop the leash,' the report said.

When he managed to kill Suzie, he accidentally shot another husky which had not been due to be killed, but had to be put down.

'He also had to perform what he described as "execution style" killings where he wrestled the dogs to the ground and stood on them with one foot to shoot them.'

The report added: 'He described a guttural sound he had never heard before from the dogs and fear in their eyes.'

It also told how he was attacked by an injured animal and had to use a knife to kill it after he ran out of ammunition.

'His memory of the final 15 dogs is hazy,' the documents added. 'Some he shot cleanly, others he had to chase.



'In some cases it was easier to get behind the dogs and slit their throats.'

There was international public outcry which led to a review that recommended what British Columbia Premier Christy Clark called the toughest animal cruelty laws in Canada.

The recommendations included significantly tougher penalties for animal cruelty, mandatory standards for sled-dog operators and increased funding for the SPCA.