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PETA is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the deaths of 13 beagles – who were killed in a fire authorities believe was deliberate – at an outdoor dog kennel in Northampton County, near Roanoke Rapids Lake, on Oct. 22.

“Thirteen helpless, terrified beagles burned to death inside a kennel, unable to escape the flames surrounding them,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “PETA urges anyone with information to come forward immediately before their killer harms anyone else.”

Tipsters should contact Sgt. W. Killian with the Northampton County Sheriff’s Department at 252-534-2611.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—cautions everyone to keep dogs indoors as members of the family and never leave them crated or restrained and unattended outdoors.