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ARCHIVED - Horrifying case of animal abuse uncovered at Murcia horse farm
Warning: some of the images in this report may be distressing. Reader discretion is advised.
Dozens of starving animals were discovered amongst the rotting corpses of other horses on the Murcia property
The Guardia Civil in the Region of Murcia has uncovered one of the worst cases of animal abuse unimaginable, at a horse farm located in the central Murcia town of Monteagudo. Operation ‘Bucéfalo’ was established following a complaint by an Alicante resident that the animals were living in deplorable conditions and when investigators conducted a search of the property, they were met with unspeakable horrors.
A total of 35 horses, donkeys and ponies were living in filth on the farm, all half-starved and suffering from a multitude of ailments. But the most shocking aspect is that they were sharing their yard with the decomposing bodies of 13 other horses.
Not only was this extremely dangerous for the surviving animals, who could easily contract diseases from the corpses, but the property posed a serious risk to people as well, situated as it is very close to residential houses.
Investigators from the Nature Protection Service of the Guardia Civil (Seprona) checked the microchips and passports of all the animals, dead and alive, and found that the farm had registered 71 equines, of which 19 were unaccounted for. The owner of the farm couldn’t provide any documentation to confirm their death, sale or transport to another property.
The remaining equines were being blatantly neglected: the premises lacked even the most basic hygiene and feeding facilities and the animals were left to survive on leftover lettuce, resulting in malnutrition and intestinal problems.
To prevent any further harm, the owner was ordered to immediately hire an authorised management company to correctly dispose of the dead horses.
Seprona has begun proceedings against the owner of the farm, who will be charged with the crime of animal abuse for failing to adequately care for the living equines and failing to dispose of the corpses of the dead ones.
The revision of the Animal Protection Law in Spain guarantees that harsher penalties are handed down to people whose abuse leads to death, and the farmer is facing between three months and one day to a year in prison, as well as a ban of up to three years from owning or working with animals.
He will also be charged with a number of other offences, such as neglecting to provide appropriate veterinary attention, updating the census, communicating the death of an animal to the corresponding authorities and failing to correctly deal with the equine remains. These crimes alone constitute fines of between 60,001 and 1,200,000 euros.
Images: Guardia Civil
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