Over 1,000 dead dogs were found piled on top of each other on the grounds of a house in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.

Police are investigating a man in his 60s who took in abandoned dogs and starved them to death. 

The decayed carcasses of the dogs were first discovered by a resident in the Yangpyeong neighborhood, where he stumbled upon a house full of dead dogs as he was trying to locate his own lost dog on Saturday.

According to local media, the dogs were placed in cages, sacks and rubber containers on the house’s yard. 

The rotten bodies of the canines created a layer on the ground as more dead dogs were stacked to add more layers.

Only four dogs, which were suffering from malnutrition and skin disease, were rescued from the house. All four are currently under treatment at a clinic, with two of them in critical condition. 

The county of Yangpyeong reportedly plans to clear the carcasses within the week.

According to animal rights activists, the man was allegedly paid by dog breeders to get rid of dogs that were past the breeding age or no longer commercially attractive.

The Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth alleges that the man was paid 10,000 won (approximately $7.60) per dog since 2020 to “take care of them.”

Under South Korea’s Animal Protection Act, individuals who kill an animal by purposefully failing to feed them are subject to up to three years in prison or up to 30 million won (approximately $23,000) in fines.

Cases of animal abuse in the country have reportedly been on the rise, and incidents of animal abandonment have risen by around 40,000.

Warning: The video below contains images of dead animals. Viewer discretion is advised.