The National Police have discovered two warehouses and a house, in the towns of Mijas and Fuengirola, where illegal kennels had been set up for the intensive breeding of animals. The person responsible, a 42 year old man, who ran a pet shop in the neighbouring town, was arrested for his alleged responsibility for a continuous crime of animal abuse and another of animal abuse for sexual purposes by means of intensive breeding in the kennels.

The agents discovered the illegal activity when they were trying to free a dog that they were holding in distress and which was eventually found dead. As a result of a complaint by the owner of the animal, a total of 140 dogs were released, which were in "terrible hygienic and sanitary conditions, including many females Subjected to intensive sexual reproduction", according to the National Police in a press release.

The investigation

The investigation, carried out by agents of the Local Judicial Police Brigade of the Fuengirola and Vélez-Málaga Police Stations, was initiated following a complaint filed with the Guardia Civil in Mijas in May. In this complaint, the owner of a dog reported possible mistreatment of her dog, who had to be taken to a pet shop in Fuengirola for personal reasons. The complainant soon began to receive threats from the person in charge of the shop to make her pay a certain amount of money. In order to coerce her, she also received a video in which she could see the bad conditions and mistreatment that the animal was receiving. Despite her insistence, the owner did not manage to get the dog back, and was again threatened that if she did not pay the requested amount, the dog's would be killed.

The agents went to the establishment, located in Fuengirola, in order to rescue the dog, but there they only found 17 dogs of different breeds that lacked documentation and official certificates. In addition, the dogs were in dangerous hygienic and sanitary conditions, which jeopardised their health. According to the investigators, the owner of the shop had two kennels located in Mijas, where the complainant's dog appeared to be.

The police officers went to this location and, once they had located the premises, they found the complainant's animal, a water dog, lying lifeless on the floor along with 65 other dogs. Both buildings, together with a house belonging to the person under investigation, were also being used as kennels. Among the animals found there were numerous females treated as breeders, some with their suckling pups and others in a state of gestation. All the facilities lacked zoological registration for the breeding of domestic animals, did not meet the precise conditions for breeding, lacked drainage systems for excrement, had no ventilation or natural lighting and did not even have hygienic feeding and drinking troughs installed.

140 dogs rescued

According to the Local Police, an expert-veterinarian from the Official College of Veterinarians of Malaga carried out the relevant check of the different microchips in the Andalusian Register of Animal Identification (RAIA), managing to verify the hygienic-sanitary conditions and the animals' defencelessness. Some dogs even had to undergo surgery as the basic principles of animal welfare were not respected, all of them being subjected to commercial treatment.

In total, 140 dogs were rescued, some with serious diseases and others with skin lesions. The large-breed animals had wounds on their limbs and ears. Some also had mutilations and tooth fractures. It should be noted that medication was found on the premises which caused the animals to develop abnormally during gestation.  The owner of the facilities and the person responsible for the illegal business was arrested for a continuous offence of animal abuse and another of animal abuse for sexual purposes by means of intensive breeding in kennels.

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