"...I would urge residents to refrain from speculating."

But it was speculation online that first alerted the authorities, wasn't it, Councillor Aiden? When it grew too large an issue to ignore?

Inspector Steve Parry, of the Basildon neighbourhood policing team, added: 'As a result of a number of reports relating to dogs which were made through the Action Fraud system, officers from our neighbourhood team have worked alongside colleagues in the RSPCA and Basildon Council to piece together actionable information. That work resulted in yesterday’s joint visit.

'At this stage, we believe we have found the remains of 37 dogs and about 20 live dogs which are now being cared for. The priority for all our partners is to locate their last-known owners.

'This is likely to be a complex and potentially far-reaching investigation and we don’t plan on giving a running commentary on it – but we will endeavour to keep the public informed on this investigation when it is appropriate to do so.'

What sort of place was this? 

Save A Paw takes in dogs from people who can no longer look after them or mistreated pets and offers to find them new owners in loving homes.

Surprisingly, given the area and subject matter, this didn't appear to be one to immediately pin on the Caravan Utilising Nomadic Tribes.... 

The rescue centre owner is Oaveed Rahman aka Obi Khan, who is in his 20s. An online biography states he has 'operated his one-man rescue... since late 2024. In the months since, he claims to have rehabilitated and rehomed dozens of reactive large-breed dogs'.

I think his idea of 'rehabilitation' (though certainly effective) might differ from that understood by the pitnutters...