ARCHIVED - Jaen man jailed for hiding nails in sausage meat to kill dogs in the street

The convicted animal abuser from the Andalucian town of Torredonjimeno has been sentenced to seven months in prison

A heartless thug who stashed sharp objects inside meat placed outside his Jaén home and in popular pet walking areas with the intention of killing dogs has been sentenced to seven months in jail.

The convicted offender was caught red-handed minutes after leaving spiked food in a public area following numerous police complaints from members of the public back in 2020, and was handed a prison term when he appeared in court in Jaén last week.

He was convicted of a "continuous offence of unjustified mistreatment of domestic animals with the intention of causing their death".

The court heard that between the months of April and October 2020, the defendant placed "pieces of sausage in which he had hidden pins, nails or other sharp objects so that dogs and other animals ate them and died as a result of ingestion" both at the door of his garage and next to bins located in front of his home".

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During the trial, the defendant denied being responsible for placing the bait, but the judge considered that there was "sufficient evidence to overcome the presumption of innocence".

Thankfully, no animals died after eating the contaminated meat, but two dogs did require veterinary assistance after consuming the tampered-with sausage.

The first incident was reported by a Torredonjimeno dog owner who spotted suspicious looking pieces of meat near an olive grove close to the town centre.

The Guardia Civil collected the evidence, and following lengthy inquiries, homed in on the suspect moments after he had placed life-threatening bait in a public area and was riding off on a moped.

In addition to jail time, the defendant was disqualified from any profession, trade or business related to animals or their possession, for two years.

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Image: Guardia Civil