Two cruel thugs who sliced off a puppy's ears were punished with fines of just £950.

According to Turkish news outlets, the pair were suspected to be involved in rooster and dog fighting in the city of Isparta in western Turkey, and reportedly punished one of their losing dogs by cutting off his ears.

Gruesome pictures circulated on social media showing the men posing next to the bloodied dog and each holding up one of its severed ears.

The unnamed men were brought before the Turkish courts, but were not jailed and were instead let off with a fine of just 4,404 lira (approximately £950).

Gruesome pictures circulated on social media showing the men posing next to the bloodied dog and each holding up one of its severed ears

Local media outlets also reported that the dog in the pictures had not been found.

Following the lenient sentences, an online petition has been launched and signed by almost 80,000 people worldwide, calling on the Turkish authorities to revise its animals cruelty laws and impose tougher punishments on offenders.

'This lax punishment is not acceptable for inflicting such reprehensible harm on animal,' the petition reads.

'These men's shockingly light sentence is not even close to proportional to the pain and suffering they senselessly inflicted on an innocent animal — let alone the multiple dogs presumably forced to tear each other to shreds in fights staged for human entertainment.

The pictures went viral in Turkey and beyond and the men were shamed on social media

Local media outlets reported that the dog in the pictures has still not been found

'Animals are not toys. They are not property. They have thoughts and feelings, as backed up by research demonstrating that dogs are just as sentient as a human child. What’s more, cruelty to animals is irrefutably linked to cruelty to human beings.

'This incident of grossly inhumane treatment highlights the urgent need for the Turkish government to revisit their animal cruelty laws.'

Signing the petition, Dr Anna Nordin in Arizona, United States wrote: 'There must be a bigger penalty for this heinous act as a deterrent to other who may contemplate the same.'

While another signatory, Julia Glen, in Nanyuki, Kenya said: 'How can anyone be so cruel. Sick savages, just unbelievable.'