Kőszegpaty, Hungary  (AFP) More than 40 dogs were rescued from a filthy breeding site in Hungary on Monday, with local animal welfare groups denouncing the cruel and horrific conditions they were kept in.

The rescue operation took place in the Hungarian village of Koszegpaty near the border with Austria, where dozens of dogs were found “knee-deep in faeces” and among the carcasses of deceased animals, activists said.

“We rescued 46 dogs in terrible condition, one of them had several kilos of poop and urine stuck to its fur,” said Richard Kapin, head of the Hungarian NGO Sports Fans for Animals.

An AFP photographer at the site witnessed activists taking visibly scared animals out of kennels and dog pens from two warehouse-like buildings.

“There was an unbelievably awful smell, dogs scared to death, expensive furniture and equipment, but all broken, covered in… dirt,” said Kinga Schneider, spokesperson for the Noah Animal Shelter Foundation.

Schneider said she has observed “a trend” among “foreigners, (who) set up shop in Hungary and breed animals here in ruthless conditions”.

The dogs were vaccinated and tagged after the rescue, and will be examined before being taken to shelters.

Kapin praised the “unprecedented coordination” between more than a dozen animal welfare groups involved in the rescue.

The property in Koszegpaty was raided last week by police and public officials, along with another breeding site in the village of Csonge.

“I’ve never seen such hellish sites, such exploitation before — these animals were kept just for breeding, and their puppies were sold,” he told AFP.

At the two sites, more than 100 dogs, 51 sheep and goats, 30 poultry and four horses were found alive, according to the local county authorities.

The two properties are believed to belong to the same Austrian owner, who “has been subject to police proceedings for keeping the animals… in undignified and dangerous conditions,” the Vas county government office said in a statement.

“The animals were not even provided with the minimum living conditions — drinking water and food,” it added.