Mijas and Fuengirola came into the news recently over establishments where dogs were being bred illegally and under deplorable conditions.

The Policía Nacional arrested a man in his 30s who runs a pet shop concerning his reported responsibility within this affair, involving no fewer than 140 animals. It is also alleged that bitches were used for intensive breeding programmes; i.e., a puppy-farming centre.

Amazingly, it was the accused who provided a video of animals in his care being kept in lamentable conditions.

The pet-store owner had sent it to a dog owner for whose pet he had provided kennelling and allegedly still owed him money. It was meant as a threat — ‘this is where I will send your dog,’ sort of thing.

The pet owner, a woman in Mijas, reported the situation in May this year, handing over a copy of the said video to the Guardia Civil post in that town, which set off a police investigation.

The police soon inspected the kennels featured in the video, which are in Fuengirola. There, they found 17 dogs of different breeds, all of which lacked paperwork and microchips. Furthermore, the animals’ health was in danger due to a lack of attention.

Further investigation uncovered the fact that the accused also had illegal kennels located within warehouses in Mijas, which is where the police finally found the woman’s dog.

Accordingly, the owner was charged under laws governing animal abuse, which includes puppy farms where intensive breeding is carried out.

(News: Mijas, Costa del Sol, Malaga, Andalucia)