Enlarge image
Police operation (symbol image)
Photo: Friso Gentsch / dpa
The police in Ludwigsburg in Baden-Württemberg are investigating a case of brutal animal cruelty.
A lamb tied by the legs was found floating in the Neckar near Kirchheim on Tuesday, the officials said.
According to the investigators, the unknown perpetrator or perpetrators first stole two lambs from a garden plot in Besigheim on the river Enz on Friday night.
On Sunday night they haunted the area again and stole a sheep, another lamb, 19 chickens and a rooster.
Reward exposed for clues
On Sunday morning, the owner of the animals made a gruesome discovery.
The chickens and the rooster were beheaded outside the garden with an ax and the animals were then thrown into the river.
The sheep and a lamb also lay dead in the water.
The perpetrators had previously tied the legs of the two animals and then drowned them.
The police now said that the find on Tuesday was probably one of the animals that had been stolen on Friday night.
According to the officials, there is so far no trace of suspects.
An animal welfare organization offered a reward for clues about the perpetrator or perpetrators.
bbr / AFP
