A mass grave containing the bodies of several greyhounds was discovered in Co Limerick.

The unburied bodies are believed to be those of former racing greyhounds and were discovered by a walker in a former quarry about 40 kilometers south east of Limerick city.

Limerick Animal Welfare carried out an initial investigation of the site and located the bodies of seven or eight dogs, all greyhounds.

The bodies of the dogs were in various stages of decay, indicating that some died more recently than others.

The organisation has not ruled out the possibility that more bodies could be located in the overgrown undergrowth.

“Two greyhounds, a black bitch and a fawn dog were killed fairly recently as their bodies are not decomposed. They both appear to have been killed by an impact to the head. There are other greyhound bodies in the quarry, Limerick Animal Welfare estimates another seven or eight but the terrain is very overgrown and a proper search may reveal more,” said Marion Fitzgibbon spokesperson for The Greyhound Rescue Association of Ireland (GRAI).

“We know these dogs are racing greyhounds, as each animal is required to have a unique identifying tattoo in each ear. Some of the tattoos are still legible to the naked eye. This information has been passed to Limerick County Council and the Gardai have also been informed”, Ms Fitzgibbon added.

The GRAI is calling on the Irish Greyhound Board to launch an investigation into the circumstances that led to these dogs being killed and dumped in this way.

“These dogs did not need to die,” Ms Fitzgibbon said.