Barcelona’s local police corps are working closely with the Department for the Protection of Animals to follow up on reports of non-compliance on animal welfare and possible cases of mistreatment. Reports of this type numbered 81 in 2020, with 11 formal denouncements made in the first two months of 2021.
The City Police and the municipal Department for the Management and Protection of Animals carried out an inspection at a pet shop in the district of Nou Barris on Wednesday. The purpose was to check the facilities at shop and the health of the dogs there following formal denouncements from people who had bought puppies which were probably ill.
Thirty puppies were identified in all: 15 on sale, 12 in quarantine and 2 in hospital care. Canine coronavirus was detected in three compartments with dogs on sale. All these animals have been withdrawn from sale.
One puppy also had to be admitted to hospital as it was in such poor health. The inspection also found 18 dead dogs which were not included on the shop register. The City Police confiscated their pet passports and are investigating the death of two of them.
In addition, the inspection found that most of the dogs had been acquired irregularly, arriving at the shop without the corresponding identification and without complying with the preceptive quarantine period.
Finally, the police have started proceedings as the foreign vet contracted by the shop did not have their qualification validated by the Spanish state and is not a member of the associate body, meaning they are unqualified to implant identification chips on the animals as they had been doing.
The City Council will be monitoring the shop, giving effect to the proceedings and reports resulting from the inspection. New inspections and checks are also planned.