At least seven dogs that lived in a flat in a central Mexican town were killed by six masked attackers using a machete, the owner said Wednesday, dpa reported.
Neighbours who witnessed the attack said seven animals had been killed, but animal rights organization Pro Perro gave a much larger figure of 37 killed animals - including both cats and dogs, the Mexican daily El Universal reported.
"They were killed with blows of machetes and pipes," said Javier Cervantes, an animal-rights activist who kept the animals in his flat. He had rescued 52 dogs and 20 cats from the streets and ran a sort of informal shelter in a rented 60-square-metre flat in Jaltenco, in the state of Mexico adjoining the capital.
The killings were said to have taken place Monday.
Cervantes said a neighbour called him to tell him that several people had broken into his apartment and were killing and letting out animals.
"I have recovered some 35 dogs and I have taken them to a different place," he said.
Cervantes, who was afraid to return home and had not done so since the attack, told W Radio that he took care of the dogs - some of them sick or suffering after being run over by cars - and then gave them up for adoption. He said he had already found a more suitable plot of land on which to care for the animals.
His neighbours had filed a complaint against him over the bad smell of his flat, but a resolution was pending.