'Stop This Now': Spain Police Probe Suspected Poisoning of Nearly 50 Cats

Spanish police have said they had opened a probe into the suspected poisoning of nearly 50 street cats that could see the perpetrators serving several years’ jail time under a new animal welfare law.

The incident was reported in La Carlota village just outside the southern city of Cordoba, with residents discovering the bodies of at least 10 cats on December 31 at the local dump.

“We must stop this now! In La Carlota (Córdoba) they have been poisoning cats from feline colonies for months. The authorities are not responsible. We have reported the case. We demand that the City Council of @lacarlota1767 comply with its powers to ensure the well-being and safety of the feline colonies of La Carlota,” animal rights party PACMA wrote on X.

On Tuesday, PACMA filed a complaint with the Guardia Civil police over “the mass poisoning of a 47-strong feline colony”. “Some of the animals were found inside nearby containers while others were lying in the street with only one survivor, a young male cat which is in very poor state,” said the complaint, a copy of which was seen by AFP.

The rest of the cats had disappeared, with a PACMA spokeswoman saying they were believed to have died in the nearby woods after the poison took hold. In response, officers from the Guardia Civil’s nature protection service Seprona were dispatched to the scene to investigate the incident.

“They are looking into whether the deaths were due to poisoning or from other causes. And if there was a crime, to identify the culprits,” a spokesman for the force. Under terms of a new law that came into force last September, anyone found guilty of cruelty leading to an animal’s death could face up to three years behind bars, up from a previous penalty of 18 months.

(With agency inputs)