Arrests Made in the Vega Baja Area Over Nationwide Illegal Dog Fights

Five people have been arrested in the Almoradi, Rojales, and Crevillente areas for being involved in a nationwide ring that staged illegal dog fights. The dogs were drugged to make them more aggressive, with the National Police saying that 230 animals were saved from death across the country including the Canary Islands, Madrid and the Murcia region, with 56 dogs rescued in Alicante Province.

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A total of 34 people were arrested in an operation that was sparked by a tip-off from an animal protection society about illegal dog fights in the Madrid area, and the investigation led to the discovery of an organisation organising illegal fights as part of a ‘national circuit’ with headquarters in different Spanish provinces.

“Dogs who had survived the national circuit were taken to fights abroad in countries like the Arab Emirates, Thailand and Mexico,” said a National Police spokesman. “The dogs used in the fights were submitted to extreme training and forced cross-breeding, as well as being injected with steroids to make them more powerful and aggressive.”

The rescued dogs have now been handed over into the care of animal welfare groups.