A man sentenced to nine months in prison for hanging his dog

The Asociación Galgos del Sur has ensured that the death by hanging of

, a black Labrador retriever, does not go unpunished.

The number two Criminal Court of Jaén considers it proven that its owner hanged him in a farmhouse in ruins in Jóver (Jaén) and has sentenced him to nine months in prison and three years of special disqualification for the possession of animals and the exercise of profession, trade or trade with them.

The sentence describes how the accused, owner of

, went with him to a semi-demolished farmhouse, located in the area of ​​Portillo in the town of Jódar (Jaén) on an undetermined date in October 2020. There, "guided by the With the intention of causing its death, he tied a rope around the animal's neck and a beam to hang it, suspending it by the neck, until the dog died.

In order to hide the crime, the owner of the dog deregistered him on October 26, 2020, alleging that he had died by accident, "knowing his falsehood," the sentence specifies.

The events date back to November 10, 2020, when the protectors Galgos del Sur and Magina Animal notified the Civil Guard of the discovery of a dead dog hanging from a beam.

The Investigating Court number 3 of Úbeda closed the case considering that there was not enough evidence of a crime.

Galgos del Sur did not give up and filed an appeal before the Provincial Court in which it included "multiple evidence, indications and contradictions in the interrogations carried out in court."

Finally, the Provincial Court reopened the case a year and a half ago.

"The defendant first argued that the dog had suffered an accident and that he had searched for it for four or five days, which later became 20," says Dulce Aguilera, a lawyer for Galgos del Sur, from the Justicia, Animales & Medio Ambiente law firm. .

She also raised suspicions that she recognized the animal immediately before Seprona just by seeing the photos of the hanged dog on a social network.

“It is impossible to recognize the animal in that dark spot, except for the place where the image is taken;

there are a thousand black dogs”.

She even went to visit the person who found the body.

's owner

denied his guilt throughout the proceedings until he confessed at trial, although he has not explained why he made the terrible decision to hang the animal.

The dog was not registered as a hunting dog, and there is no indication that it was used for hunting.

The Asociación Galgos del Sur, which collects about 400 greyhounds and hounds abandoned by hunters each year, feels "satisfied" with the ruling.

Above all, because "carrying out a criminal proceeding for animal abuse is tremendously complicated, not only because of the evidence, but because it involves a lot of effort and financial outlay for small, non-profit associations," Aguilera clarifies.

Many end up giving up.

Hence the importance of Galgos del Sur appearing as a private prosecution.

's death

"would have been archived and forgotten, as happens in the vast majority of criminal proceedings for animal abuse and where the accusation is made by the prosecutor," he comments.

The importance of popular and private accusations in this type of procedure lies in the fact that they practically become guarantors that the criminal process continues.

A job they do for "

and so many like her who lost her life unfairly and cruelly," the association concludes in a statement.

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