The animal shelter case that shocked Spain: hundreds of dogs and cats euthanized to finance a luxury lifestyle

The legal process at Parque Animal, the fake shelter in Torremolinos where hundreds of dogs and cats were killed for money, has lasted almost 15 years. The case, which caused shock waves throughout Spain, has so far resulted in two prison sentences against Carmen Marín, the former boss of the shelter, for crimes of embezzlement, false documents and animal abuse. These are the keys to one of the most serious cases of animal abuse in the country.

What is the Animal Park?

In theory, it was a non-profit association. Founded in 1996, its goal was to collect abandoned animals and find responsible owners to offer them new homes. Years later, it acquired a kennel and a zoosanitary center. It was financed by donations from its members and profits from breeding, and also received around 27,500 euros each year from the town hall of Torremolinos, owner of the land. The association also filed a complaint against anyone who dropped off an animal at the shelter.

What happened?

In June 2010, the Guardia Civil opened an investigation following a complaint of animal abuse filed by a veterinarian who worked within the association. The employee provided several cell phone recordings to prove that the animals were being euthanized in a cruel manner. In a devastating report, the Guardia Civil Animal Protection Unit (Seprona) reported that, during a surprise visit to the shelter’s facilities, it discovered freezers containing 44 cats, seven dogs, a seagull and two boxes containing minced meat offal.

Some of these animals may have been frozen before death, according to post-mortem results. In the trash, officers also found “two dead cats in plastic bags and hazardous sanitation waste.” The Guardia Civil also seized five invoices, invoiced to the Torremolinos town hall, for the cremation of 702 animals (dogs and cats) between April 30 and August 31, 2010. The agents were “surprised by the high number of animals cremated in just five months.

How were the animals slaughtered?

The assassinations, carried out by Marín and an assistant, took place without veterinary supervision and on days that the prosecutor’s office described as “authentic extermination sessions”. Both entered the cages early in the morning to euthanize the animals. Beforehand, they turned off the security cameras and turned up the volume of the radio, connected to the speakers, to silence the animals’ yelps, which lasted for hours because the animals received a lower dose of euthanasia product than necessary. . to save costs. The product was injected intramuscularly rather than intravenously, causing the animals to suffer slowly and painfully.

Witnesses

During the trial, one of the employees told Guardia Civil officers that Carmen Marín “bragged about killing animals and criticized the fact that the rest of us spent a lot on euthanasia products and told us that with a dose less, they also ended up dying”, although poor administration caused “agony” in the pets. The prosecutor estimated that, “thanks to such a cruel procedure”, the defendants had “slaughtered and incinerated” more than 2,180 animals between the months of January 2009 and October 2010. The employees also claimed on one occasion that Marín, at short of animals, went to the El Paraíso Shelter in Alhaurín de la Torre to look for dogs.

Other witnesses reported that they picked up dogs or cats found on the street to take them to the park and that a few hours later, when their owners were found, they disappeared. The official excuse was that they had been put up for adoption, but the law specifies that abandoned or lost animals cannot be euthanized until at least ten days after receiving them.

Why did she do it?

For money. The provincial court has just sentenced Marín to two years in prison for the continuing offense of misappropriation after finding that she had used the funds of the Parque Animal association, donated by the public, “with the intention of making a profit unlawful and to execute an established plan.” “. She paid a department store a sum of 104,384 euros to renovate and decorate the aesthetic medicine clinic of one of her daughters in Los Álamos, the court heard. She also bought a car for 14,000 euros. Marín also made purchases at a well-known supermarket, a car rental service and a large wholesale store, the court heard.

The Parque Animal account was also used by Marín and his family to

pay for 20 lessons at a driving school, monthly fees at a gym and a home security system. The sentence, seen by SUR, also claimed that Marín paid for stays in luxury hotels in Marbella, Lisbon, Salamanca, Nerja, Bilbao, Jerez de la Frontera, Marrakech, Boston and St. Petersburg. All these expenses were charged to the current accounts of the fake Torremolinos animal shelter. Marín made payments to restaurants for amounts exceeding 11,000 euros between 2008 and 2010, the court also heard.

Will she go to prison?

Marín was imprisoned for more than two years for falsifying documents and mistreating animals. She served her sentence but is now thrown behind bars again: another two years in prison for embezzlement. She will also have to pay more than 300,000 euros. This new conviction can be appealed to the Supreme Court. It is therefore unclear whether Marín, who also claims to suffer from health problems, will return to prison.