The massacre of dogs registered in Magdalena, 40 kilometers from the capital of Buenos Aires, has already reached institutional impact. After the deaths of at least 15 poisoned animals were known in a neighborhood of that quiet town in the interior of Buenos Aires, the Justice, the police and the Municipality intervene with different approaches in an attempt to find the person or persons responsible. And stop the mortality.
It all started last Friday, when a neighbor of that city reported the death of his puppy, Golden Retriever. The 40-year-old man had searched all afternoon for his pet and the family panicked.
At dusk came the worst news: he was found dead under a tree and with signs of poisoning. They called him "Homer." "The dog was in good health. Well kept, no problems. Besides, it wasn't bad. Everything was very traumatic," said Cristian, owner of the dead animal who lives in the area of Saavedra and Ruiz, a few meters from Route 11, the main access to that town.
In his complaint, Cristian said that a few meters from his house was found an aluminum can wrapped in two nylon bags, which contained a white liquid not yet identified. Next to the can, a skimmer with a brown handle was found, possibly used to administer the poison.
The massacre reached 15 dogs according to several reports and there would be a suspected man. It is an agricultural producer in the area with whom the owner of "Homer" had had an argument for alleged differences related to the behavior of the dog. So far there are no elements in the Justice to advance against the alleged perpetrator.
But the case took an unexpected and surprising turn when other neighbors in the area had also lost their pets in very similar situations. In the first hours four cases transcended and then, from the "word of mouth" and the first presentation it was known that there were 15 deaths of dogs in the streets of Magdalena.
The mayor, Gonzalo Peluso, lives in that neighborhood, according to what they told Clarín in the commune. "He approached the police station to accompany the first neighbors," they clarified. And they assured that they have already made available to the judicial authorities the recordings of the security cameras monitored by the intendancy.
It is that a file was opened in the prosecutor's office led by Alvaro Garganta in La Plata. It is for infringement of Law 14,346, for the protection of domestic animals. It is known as "Sarmiento Law" because it was promoted and promulgated by the former president who served in the mid-nineteenth century (1868/1874). It imposes light sentences of up to six months in suspended prison for those who mistreat animals.
With the intervention of the delegation of the prosecutor's office, this Monday began the tests and expertise in the bodies of the animals. Samples and remains were sent to UNLP and private laboratories for analysis of the viscera. An attempt will be made to determine if it is the same component that killed them. Or if there was some other cause, they explained in court.
The can with the toxic substance that Cristian found meters from his house was also delivered to the Police and to carry out expertise.
The possible application of some phosphorus product, such as those used for defoliant in the field, is suspected. The owner of the farm with which Homer's owner had a cross has poultry and other animals. He argued that the dogs hurt them and that it was a measure to avoid such damage.
In Magdalena, a city of just under 25,<> inhabitants and lying on the Río de la Plata, with a penitentiary unit and a dependency of the Argentine Army is mobilized by the repercussion of this unprecedented situation that affects some families in the area.
Today in the village it was the obligatory topic of conversation in shops, schools and bars: the search for the "killer" of dogs. And speculation about who or who might be responsible for the unjustified killing.
La Plata. Correspondent
PS
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