The Superior Court of Justice of Madrid (TSJM) has annulled the acquittal of vet Tenerife related to the plot of dogs fights At the national level, there were 23 defendants, all of whom were sentenced to sentences of less than two years, except for two veterinarians, including the Canarian.
In the ruling a year ago by the Provincial Court of Madrid, it was not proven that the two doctors, one from Tenerife and another registered in the Official College of Toledo and Madrid, knew the state of the animals and their destination, training and medication. to achieve maximum performance, so they were acquitted.
However, now the TSJM accepts the request of the Prosecutor’s Office that the evidence be re-evaluated to either conclude in a conviction or ratify innocence, while the private prosecution, formed by Salvando Ángeles Sin Alas (SASA), defended that he was convicted, which in principle the court rejects until a review of his particular case is carried out.
The events came to light when on the night of February 18, 2017, on a farm in the south of Tenerife, while the Canary Islands dog fighting convention was being held, agents from the environmental group intervened, who interrupted a combat in which heavy bets were placed.
At that moment they found one dead animal, another injured and four ready to start other confrontations. The agents They released about 230 dogs.
Among the elements that the TSJM asks to be evaluated again is that in the first sentence it was reflected that at the time the Tenerife veterinarian treated a badly injured dog about which he did not investigate the causes of the damage, or the discovery of a prescription in target of a clinic signed and sealed by him.
A conversation between two other convicts is also cited in which they refer to their “tolerance” with the celebration of what they call a “party” or the advice given on how to stab between the ribs of a sick dog, which later died.
At that time, it was considered that this evidence was imprecise or inconclusive to determine his participation in the activities of the criminal group or in the crime of mistreatment as a necessary cooperator.
But now the TSJM maintains that elements demonstrating that the accused could be part of this group were eluded, contributing his technical knowledge about medical treatment, taking care of those that were property of the members of the group and particularly of one of the convicted leaders.
Their activity would have consisted of blood tests for recovery after fights, issuing prescriptions for medication and other blanks and documenting the animals, “knowing of the illicit activity for which they were trained.”
The recent ruling of the TSJM reflects numerous conversations that are not included in the appealed ruling that would implicate the veterinarian in the plot, assisting the dogs through controls and alterations of documents for their transfer, among others.
The room understands that these tests require evaluation with the rest, relating them to the documentation and effects intervened, among them an undated prescription signed and sealed by the veterinarian for a medication called Dexabiopen, an injectable antibacterial.
The plot was dismantled in February 2017 and was dedicated to breeding potentially dangerous dogs that were trained to be more aggressive and provided doping substances such as testosterone to engage them in fights in which they were killed or seriously injured.
The network operated at a national, local and regional level, with groups detected in Madrid, the Canary Islands, Alicante, Murcia, Almería and Málaga, which were “interconnected” and had international ramifications.
