A Motril man has been charged for letting several animals starve to death on his property, including horses, despite having been warned after an inspection.

The 52-year-old man, who has a criminal record, stands accused of animal cruelty for letting two horses and four sheep die through neglect.

A Seprona patrol (Guardia Civil Environmental Branch) turned up to inspect a smallholding within the municipality of Motril on the 28th of November, accompanied by a vet.

The first thing that they came across were the bodies of four sheep which had apparently starved to death after becoming trapped in their own dung.

Further inspection uncovered three horses and four donkeys in a deplorable state of neglect. The police warned him that he had the obligation to feed the animals, call in a vet to attend to the sick ones and clean out the whole farm, removing the dung that was in some places was half a metre deep.

The police returned on the 3rd of December to check up on him to make sure that he had done as instructed but found the situation even worse: two of the horses had died, the farm sheds were still deep in dung and none of the animals had received any veterinary attention.

The surviving horse and donkeys were immediately confiscated and handed over to an animal protection association.

Editorial comment: Believe it or not, the accompanying photograph is the least graphic provided by the Guardia Civil in their press release. Furthermore, why was something not done after the first inspection if there were already animals that had died through neglect?

(News: Motril,Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)