Spanish officials shoot dead dog they think is lion

A judge has issued criminal proceedings to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of the animal, which occurred after it was shot with buckshot, to determine whether an abuse of domestic animals crime was committed.

The magistrate court in Amposta has recieved a complaint from El Refugio, an animal rights association. The complaint was filed after the death of a dog that was killed on the Senia (Montsià) after four days of searching that some people had mistaken for a lion.

The incident occurred in early October, when several locals alerted police to the presence of a lioness near the farm of Mas de la Menescal. A search was launched in the Senia and Pobla de Benifassà.



For two days rural police failed to trap the animal or shoot it with a tranquiliser dart. The animal turned out to be a male dog with short hair 1.55 metres long and 75 centimetres high, and was considered potentially dangerous. The dog showed signs of being feral for some time.

"It is irresponsible for people, with all the modern means available, to kill a poor, helpless abandoned dog " complained the president of El Refugio, Nacho Paunero.

The search is reputed to have cost 100,000 euros according to the association, and involved the Autonomous Police, National Police, local police and Civil Guard.