The Guardia Civil has uncovered a scene of ‘deplorable’ neglect in the town of Azuaga, where 32 dogs were found dead from starvation on a rural property.
The discovery was made last week by a Seprona patrol, which had received information suggesting animals were being kept in poor condition inside a warehouse in Badajoz, which neighbours Andalucia.
On gaining access – in the presence of the owner – officers found the corpses of dozens of dogs scattered across the premises, some loose, others chained, and several confined inside kennels.
According to investigators, the animals had been abandoned since June, left without food or water.
Many were severely emaciated, and in a grim sign of desperation, some had attempted to feed on the decomposing remains of others.
The owner, a resident of Azuaga, is under investigation for alleged animal abandonment resulting in death. Evidence gathered at the site has been passed to the Llerena Investigative Court and the Badajoz Environmental Prosecutor’s Office.
Photographs taken by authorities show the animals in various stages of decomposition, their skeletal remains a stark testament to prolonged neglect.
Guardia Civil sources described the sanitary conditions as ‘appalling’.
Animal rights groups in Extremadura have condemned the case as one of the worst examples of neglect in recent years and are calling for a lifetime ban on the keeping of animals for those convicted of such offences.
The investigation is ongoing, with officers seeking to establish whether the accused had previously been reported for animal mistreatment or abandonment.
