A woman who hanged a pet dog to death has been jailed for three years by judges in Ecuador.
Prosecutors in the city of Quito told how Spayk the Siberian husky suffered terrifying agony in his last moments of life after accused Maria Blanca C. strung him up in a tree.
Police say the owner had left Spayk with relatives in La Argelia while she went on holiday.
But when neighbour Maria Blanca C. spotted the pooch outside the house she put a rope around his neck and hoisted him into a tree, the court heard on 29th August.
The owner’s horrified carers watched the lynching in October 2022 but were, the court heard, unable to stop it.
Lawyer and coordinator of NGO Animal Libre Ecuador, Marianella Irigoyen, said: “She proceeded to pull the rope until Spayk was hanged in front of all the residents of the area, including minors.”
At the time Quito Animal Welfare Unit wrote: “Faced with a citizen complaint about a flagrant case of animal abuse, we went to the scene together with the Ecuador Police and the Metropolitan Control Agency.
“Once the case was verified by the Quito Animal Welfare Unit, the Metropolitan Control Agency issued the order to initiate the sanctioning process.”
Adding that the animal had suffered a cruel death, Irigoyen said: “They were seconds of despair.”
Neighbours then instantly filed a criminal complaint against the woman, local media revealed.
Maria Blanca C. was found guilty of mistreatment of an animal, and was imprisoned for three years plus mandatory psychiatric treatment.
She was also banned from even keeping pets in her life again, and ordered to make a public apology.
Irigoyen said: “[This is a] historical judgment. It is the first time that a person who kills an animal is going to jail.”
Following the verdict, the ‘Una pata de esperanza’ (‘A paw of hope’) foundation wrote on Instagram: “We made every effort so that this crime does not go unpunished, so that this and many cases of animal abuse never happen again.
“Today is a special day for the country and for the animals, today is the day we told the aggressors No more! No to animal abuse!”
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Story By: Georgina Jadikovska, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash
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