Brigitte Bardot calls for halt to use of puppies as shark bait

DO YOU THINK IT'S REAL? I THINK SOMEONE IS PULLING A JOKE/SCAM. This is the only photo I could find. I couldn't find any thing on the web that talked about different incidents.

Brigitte Bardot, the 1950s and 1960s film star turned animal rights campaigner, has called on the French government to halt the reported use by fishermen on the island of Reunion of live puppies and kittens as shark bait.

From the Brigitte Bardot Foundation:
Live baits for sharks
Another issue that is very important to us and that we discussed with the minister remains shark fishing in the Reunion Island. A local custom consists in going shark fishing with dogs used as live baits.

Last September, a dog came back to its owner in a very sad state. It had run away the previous night and came back the next morning with a hook planted in its muzzle. The owner brought the poor dog to the nearest SPCA to nurse him back to health. Before removing the hook, the vet noticed a fracture of the lower jaw. There was no doubt that the animal was destined to serve as a bait for big game fishing. It is indeed a common habit on the island. Back in 2000, a stroller was intrigued by whining noises from the trunk of a car.

Inside, she discovered two small dogs with their paws tied up; they had multiple injuries around the muzzle, paws and sternum. The veterinarian examination disclosed that they were left by a large hook. The Foundation sued the fisherman for deliberate acts of cruelty against animals. Unfortunately, the court could not condemn the culprit, because he had already been judged a few months before by the police court, where the fisherman keen on using live baits was given a one month suspended prison sentence and a 6 000 francs fine.

We asked the government to be more vigilant and make sure animal protection laws are put into practice in the same way as Metropolitan France.