This is the moment a dog was thrown into the frozen sea off the coast of Hartlepool, England. Which prompted an investigation by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA).

The RSPCA is urging anyone with information to submit what has been described as a “distressing” incident.

A member of the public told  Hartlepool Mail that he witnessed three men with nine gagged greyhounds at sea, through the Brus Tunnel area of ​​the city. And, after emerging from a structure into the sea, one of the men repeatedly threw a dog into the water.

WARNING: STRONG IMAGES THAT MAY HURT YOUR SENSITIVITY

Now, a second person, who was at some distance with their children, has passed pictures of the incident to the RSPCA . This witness, who did not want to be identified, said he and his children were disturbed by what happened to the dogs . In the images it is observed that the greyhound is tied, to be thrown again and again into the frozen water.

The man said:

“They were being carried to the end of the structure and thrown roughly from a height of about 4 feet and a distance of 6 feet. The waves were quite strong and my first thought was, once they had surfaced, what would happen if they were propelled by the waves crashing them towards the rusty sides of the pier? There were a significant number of dogs in the group and they seemed to be taking them out one by one. ‘

Shocking images show dog dumped into sea at Hartlepool

John Stephenson, who heads the Greyhound Rescue North East rescue group , was shocked to hear what had happened and said that he had not heard of this practice before.

He said:

I’ve never heard of something like this before, it just doesn’t make sense. Why on earth would someone throw a dog like this into the sea in freezing cold conditions, it’s just stupid. “

A spokeswoman for the RSPCA said:

“We are still making inquiries after receiving a disturbing report that a group of men with multiple dogs were seen in Hartlepool repeatedly throwing one of the dogs, a greyhound, into the water on Thursday, November 2.”

“An inspector started an investigation and attended the scene, but the group was no longer there. We have since been contacted by another member of the public who provided us with photos of what appears to be a man throwing the dog into the water.

The RSPCA seeks information about what happened.

“These images are very distressing and we urge anyone who has witnessed this or who may have more information that may assist an investigation to contact us at 0300 1234 999.”