Residents of the city of Parla were walking their dogs along Vereda de las Begillas, a rural village on the outskirts of Madrid last September, when they encountered a very gruesome sight. From inside the fence surrounding the livestock farm, she observed in disbelief the piles of semi-decomposing sheep carcasses. He immediately called 112 and the alarm was activated.
Officials from the National Police were the first on the scene to confirm the truth of the woman’s story and liaised with the Community Forestry Officers Corps of Madrid and the Animal Protection Department of the Ministry of the Environment, Agriculture and the Interior. Officials counted a total of 50 dead sheep and many other sick animals inside the rotten warehouse where a total of 220 sheep heads were stored. Their investigation led to the arrest of the farm’s owner, a 51-year-old Spanish national who specialized in livestock sales and who already had a criminal record with the Civil Guard for another environmental crime: forest fires. He is now charged with “animal cruelty and abandonment of a vertebrate animal resulting in death.” A police memo regarding the matter was sent on Wednesday this week.
The researchers said in the memo that “the sheep lacked veterinary care and follow-up,” and the remaining animals showed signs of illness. In fact, the researchers said the sick sheep showed respiratory disease, lameness, udder inflammation or infection, or hoof abnormalities.
The livestock farm was located in a warehouse and housed approximately 220 livestock. The materials that made up the enclosure were rusted and broken, and the floor the animals were kept on consisted mostly of feces and had not been properly disinfected.
No document
The detained man does not have any documents or records relating to the farm, and a veterinarian said he had not visited the site since February 2025. The food given to the sheep was not kept in waterproof containers, but was placed on the ground. The straw has turned black in places, indicating poor storage conditions and may pose a danger to animals if consumed. Similarly, remains and feathers of dead birds have been found in the feed, resulting in health risks, the police memo warns.
For these reasons, the National Police arrested the man in September 2025 on charges of animal cruelty and abandonment of a vertebrate animal resulting in its death as a result of neglecting necessary veterinary treatment. After his arrest, he was subject to judicial action.
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