Guardia Civil dismantles illegal puppy farm

The Guardia Civil has arrested two people and is investigating a third for the illegal sale of puppies throughout Spain within the framework of the ‘Pupicas’ operation.

In total, two searches have been carried out in a home and in a rural plot with a small warehouse where a total of 46 puppies have been rescued and numerous documentation has been seized.

The operation began when the Guardia Civil received a number of complaints from individuals who, after buying the puppies through the internet, received the dogs with different illnesses that caused them to be admitted to veterinary centres and, in some cases, the death of the animal.

For this reason, the Guardia Civil established contacts with the College of Veterinarians of Cantabria and began an investigation to clarify what happened.

The operation was part of the actions against animal abuse carried out by the Guardia Civil of Cantabria since June 1, framed in the Responsible Leisure Plan.

The agents were able to verify that the now arrested people advertised the sale of puppies on the Internet. To do so, they provided false health cards from the College of Veterinarians of Cáceres and Badajoz and vaccinated the animals without any type of professional supervision.

In addition, the sales were formalised without an invoice.

In the exploitation phase, two searches were carried out in which a total of 46 puppies were rescued, 2 Chihuahuas, 16 poodles, 6 border collies and 22 dachshunds. In the same way, different falsified health cards from the College of Veterinarians of Cáceres and Badajoz, vaccines and syringes with needles, as well as various medications, and a stamp that is used to seal the aforementioned documentation were seized.

Finally, on June 26, a couple aged 35 and 36, residents of the town of Castro Urdiales, were arrested and a woman was investigated as alleged perpetrators of the continued crimes of animal abuse, professional intrusion, document falsification, money laundering and criminal group.