Avala man jailed on two counts of animal abuse

Avala man jailed on two counts of animal abuse

As part of ‘Operation Txakur’ the Guardia Civil has arrested a person for two crimes of animal abuse in the basque Country province of Alava. This operation had been initiated after the bodies of the two English Setter puppies were found in a wooded area of pine trees near the town of Virgala Mayor, in Alava.

After the alert, and initial investigations by a Forestry Agent from the Department of the Environment of the Provincial Council of Alava, the two corpses were taken to the Agricultural and Livestock Laboratory of the Provincial Council of Alava.

A few days later, a farm with animals belonging to a private individual was located. There were two female dogs that had recently given birth to a litter of puppies, whose physical characteristics coincided with the dead puppies.

Guardia Civil officers took DNA samples from each female for subsequent analysis and comparison at the Environmental Department of the Guardia Civil’s Criminalistics Service.

Subsequently, SEPRONA officers of the Guardia Civil transferred the bodies to the Institute of Legal Medicine in Valencia to carry out a necropsy and the collection of samples for genetic identification analysis (DNA). The result showed maternal-filial compatibility between one of the dogs owned by the convicted person and the dead puppies.

After the necropsy of the corpses, and the evaluation of the report carried out by the SEPRONA Technical Unit, the cause of death of both dogs was certified as cranioencephalic traumatism with a blunt object.

The Guardia Civil has been using DNA extraction techniques for years in its investigations. It is a key tool to find relationships between species, and, as in this case, to identify the perpetrators of crimes of animal abuse.

Alava Environmental Prosecutor’s Office requested a prison sentence of 12 months for each of the offences. It also asked for a special disqualification from exercising a profession, trade, or trade related to animals, and from keeping animals for a period of one year.

Vitoria’s Court of Instruction No2 sentenced this perpetrator of animal abuse to 16 months in prison. That was 8 months for each of the offences committed. The Judicial Authority, in its sentence, has sentenced independently for each of the individual offences committed against the puppies, which is becoming increasingly common in courts in different parts of Spain.

So far this year, the Guardia Civil has detected 228 crimes of animal abandonment with 103 people arrested and investigated. A total of 832 people have been arrested and investigated for animal mistreatment, with 486 people arrested and investigated. Administrative offences relating to the regulations on pets amounted to 13,068.

The investigation was coordinated by the Delegated Section of the Environmental Prosecutor’s Office of Alava. It was led by agents from the Guardia Civil’s SEPRONA unit, with the fundamental collaboration of the Forestry Agents of Alava.

For further information, please contact the SEPRONA Press Office on 608 251 069

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Written by

Chris King

Originally from Wales, Chris spent years on the Costa del Sol before moving to the Algarve where he is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com

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