Shepherds face prison for brutally ‘beating’ a dog

THE Palma prosecutor has asked that two shepherds accused of animal abuse be banned from their profession. The two men, aged 40 and 74, also face six months in prison each and could be forced to pay €461 compensation to the dog’s owner for veterinary treatments.

They are accused of beating a dog they thought had attacked and killed more than 30 of their sheep.

On that day in January 2010, one of the suspects allegedly entered a farm in Cami dels Reis (Palma) where the one-year-old Husky-Labrador mix lived with its owner and three other dogs.

The shepherd ‘grabbed, dragged and pinned the dog down to put a rope around its neck’, according to the prosecutor.

Once restrained, he started beating the dog with a stick on its head and body until it lost consciousness.

He then threw him over at gate onto a road where he waited for the other shepherd who came with a van to take the dog to a nearby forest where they apparently continued to beat the dog.

Although the dog survived, it is now disabled.