The incident took place in the village of La Carlota, located near Cordoba, in southern Spain, where residents discovered the bodies of at least ten stray cats in a local dump on December 31, a holiday. Alerted, the animal defense party Pacma filed a complaint with the Civil Guard for “the massive poisoning of a group of 47 cats”, which some of its members had taken care of for several years. “Some animals were found inside nearby containers, some were lying in the street,” the complaint states, which theAFP was able to consult.
According to Pacma, only a young male cat was found alive, but “in very poor condition”. The other cat members of the group whose bodies were not found have disappeared. According to a spokesperson for the association, they probably died in the surrounding woods after being poisoned.
A new, tougher law on animal cruelty
Agents of the nature protection service of the Civil Guard were dispatched to the scene on Wednesday. “They are looking into whether the deaths were due to poisoning or other causes. And if there has been a crime, they seek to identify the culprits,” he told theAFP a spokesperson for the police.
Undera new law which came into force in September, anyone found guilty of cruelty leading to the death of an animal risks up to three years in prison. Previously, the sentence was eighteen months.
This law on animal welfare, which strengthened the supervision of pet breeders, also made the sterilization of cats compulsory, except for breeding grounds, with animal rights associations deeming better control of animals necessary. births to avoid abandonment or litters of kittens being killed. In a separate operation, police said Thursday they had dismantled a network suspected of importing puppies from Hungary and Slovakia to sell them in Spain with false documents. Eight people were arrested, according to the police, who indicated that they recovered around a hundred animals during their searches.