A photo of the discovery spread quickly on Facebook among animal rights activists, causing consternation. It was put up a few days ago by the owner of a dachshund who wanted to remain anonymous. She also reported it to police and filed a complaint. "The dog people on the Heiderhof know each other," she said. One woman told her she had often found similarly arranged sausages and cold cuts in the area and disposed of them.

The baited cold cut and sausage ensemble was actually found by a man who always goes out walking with his labrador on the Heiderhof. It was an afternoon, and the sausages and cold cuts were found at the base of a tree stump. The sausage had been cut into so that it gave off an enticing smell for dogs. The razor blades were hidden between slices of cold cuts. Had a dog eaten the laced cold cuts, it could have caused internal injuries. But there was also danger because of the packaging of the other pieces of sausage. The casing and metal clips used at each end of the sausage could cause suffocation and intestinal obstruction if consumed by a dog. "This is a painful death for the dog and agonizing for the dog owner, because we love our animals as our children," said the woman. Her dachshund was totally excited about the sausage and if she had not held him back, "he would have been all over it".

The Godesberg resident says it is “incredibly sick” for someone to lay such bait. She could imagine that some people are angered by dog owners who don’t clean up dog poop, and she shares this anger. "There are many dogs on the Heiderhof, unfortunately, not all dog owners carry bags (for dog waste)," she said. She has plenty of them in her pockets and a supply at home.

In any case, the baited cold cuts are now a topic of conversation on the Heiderhof and police are taking action. According to Section 17 of the Animal Welfare Act, some acts of violence against animals can result in a fine or imprisonment of up to three years.

Three times this year, there were similar cases in Oberhausen. In one of them, a dog had a sausage with razor blade in its mouth but the owner was able to take it away. After incidents in a Berlin park, signs were put out to warn people. In the case of the Bonn incident, people on Facebook made comments like “unbelievable”, “sick world” and “monster”.

Anyone who finds the baited cold cuts and sausages should call police, and not clear it all away. Any tips can be called in to: (0228) 1 50.

(Orig. text: Richard Bongartz; Translation: ck)