Two people investigated for mistreatment of a bull in Gàtova
The Festival Director ordered a local hunter neighbor the unauthorized use of weapons and he shot down the animal
ValènciaThe Civil Guard is investigating two people for animal abuse and administrative prevarication after the escape of seven bovine heads during the development of a festival in the Valencian town of Gàtova.
The events were triggered last July 18 due to the celebration of street bullfighting authorized in the municipality. During the development of the event, the containment system in the delimited enclosure failed, which caused the escape to the public highway of seven bovine heads (six cows and one bull) belonging to a fighting bull ranch.
Given the risk situation generated for citizen safety, the Civil Guard immediately deployed a large localization and control device coordinated by air and land, in which patrols of Citizen Security of the region, components of SEPRONA and the Air Unit of Valencia participated.
Omission of the norm
During the search operation, Civil Guard agents located and formally informed the local authority, in their capacity as Festival Director, of their legal responsibilities, urging the issuance of public risk alerts and notification to emergency services.
Likewise, the Acting Force expressly warned him that the use of firearms for this type of contingency is absolutely exceptional, imperatively requiring express governmental authorizations and strict compliance with safety measures.
Despite the legal warnings issued by SEPRONA specialists and the commanders of the operation, during the early morning of July 19, the Festival Director omitted the legally regulated procedures and gave a direct verbal instruction to a local resident, a hunting enthusiast, to neutralize the bull using a firearm.
Without legal competence
Around 04:00 hours, at night and at a short distance from a inhabited area of a development adjoining the urban center, the alleged perpetrator opened fire on the animal using a hunting rifle.
After receiving a first impact, the head of livestock moved several meters until it remained static, at which point a second shot was fired, causing its instant death. The investigations carried out determined that the order was issued lacking the required legal competence and without the mandatory coverage or authorization from the governmental authorities.
The SEPRONA Research Team of the Valencia Civil Guard Command assumed the instruction of the proceedings and carried out an exhaustive ocular inspection at the scene of the events.
Against the Penal Code
As a result of police actions, the formalization of the investigation without detention of two men has been carried out: the Director of the Festival, as the alleged perpetrator of a crime of Administrative Prevarication (article 404 of the Penal Code), for issuing an arbitrary verbal order in an administrative matter by irregularly authorizing the use of firearms to private individuals, and the local resident, as the material perpetrator of a crime of Animal Cruelty (article 340 bis of the Penal Code), for intentionally and unauthorizedly killing a vertebrate animal outside of legal assumptions and regulated activity.