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A Kuwaiti security contractor, with partners in the U.S., is facing growing anger after it is alleged to have killed 24 of its own bomb-sniffing dogs when it lost a security contract with Kuwait National Petroleum.

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A petition with 60,000 names on it (so far) is circulating, calling on the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait to “secure the remaining 60-90 dogs” still in the care of the firm, Eastern Securities.

The controversy erupted when photos of the German Shepherds allegedly killed by Eastern Securities were put on the internet by animal welfare groups (see one of the photos below).

Former Navy SEAL Mike Ritland, who created the Warrior Dog Foundation, a group that places retired working dogs into good homes, wrote this: “Many people have messaged me to help spread the word about this atrocity. This is why we work so hard to give our four-legged heroes, whether they are CWD, MWD, SOF or police K9’s, a place to retire and receive nothing but the best mental and physical care at the @Warriordogfoundation Many of the dogs we have received faced being put down and when no one else would take them.From the information we have gathered thus far- 24 Contract Working Dogs were killed by the contractor, Eastern Securities, when their contract was not renewed. These dogs were trained in the U.S. and sold to a Kuwaiti company to do explosive detection.”