Rescue Fails

Over the past six weeks we have been trying to save a group of horses incarcerated in a filthy, dark shack in Benijofar.

Sadly, we were unable to get the authorities to take the strong action needed to save these horses and punish the owner under mistreatment of animals legislation.

This was not a case of horses simply not being looked after to the high standards we would apply; it was a case of horrendous and sustained abuse. Kept in permanent darkness in filthy, cramped conditions, chained and unable to move, these horses were physically and psychologically tortured. It is one of the worst cases of cruelty to horses we have seen. But still, it seems, it was not serious enough to be considered a crime and treated as such.

While council officers did take action to close down the shack and get the horses moved, the owner remains in possession of the animals and will face absolutely no punishment for the cruel treatment he has subjected these animals to.

We are not confident that someone who considered this kind of treatment acceptable will now start to care for his animals properly in the unknown location to which they have been taken. It is highly likely they will end up in a similar shack elsewhere.

Instead of using animal mistreatment laws, the council issued notice to the owner under environmental laws. Under this notice the owner was given warning that if the horses were not moved by Thursday 25th February, they would be seized and put into our care.

The only realistic outcome of this action was that the horses would be moved by the owner before any seizure could take place, which is exactly what happened. We do not feel there was ever a serious intention to rescue these horses, but rather to get them moved away from Benijofar so that the problem would 'go away'. The owner's ongoing treatment of these horses will not be monitored, and we have no idea where they are.

There are strong animal welfare laws in the Valencian community, with penalties including seizure of animals, fines and bans from keeping animals. But it seems the authorities charged with applying these laws either cannot or will not use them. Until this changes, gross cruelty against animals, such as we witnessed in the shack in Benijofar, will continue.

Straining to see out, this horse tries to see
out of a tiny gap that is his only window

Inside a tiny space in the shack. This horse could not turn around. Some horses could not stand up straight.
Flash photo as horse in total darkness     

The 'shanty town' that housed the horses