The judge of the Court of Instruction number 3 of Arrecife has summoned the two owners of El Arca de Noé to testify as investigated, the store and veterinary clinic in Arrecife that was denounced by several workers for alleged animal abuse.
Although the case became public just ten days ago by the Association for Defense against Animal Abuse of Lanzarote (Ademal), in reality it was on August 26 when a worker denounced the owners of the establishment, who are accused of "allegedly ordering the death of several guinea pigs sick with mange that were thrown against the wall by another worker", among other things.
After that complaint, the Court understood that there could be a minor crime or attenuated subtype of animal abuse and the case was processed for a quick trial, setting it for October 14. However, the Prosecutor's Office understood that it could be more than a minor crime and requested that the case be transformed into preliminary proceedings, interested in the practice of certain evidence, since other facts were also denounced. In addition, in the meantime, the association of animal rights lawyers of the Canary Islands PROTA also appeared as a popular accusation.
The Court of Instruction number 3 of Arrecife agreed to the Prosecutor's Office's request to carry out the tests as preliminary proceedings and what it has done is to summon the two investigated, who live in Gran Canaria, and several witnesses, including a worker from the center, to testify by videoconference next February.
In addition, the Arrecife City Council has also been ordered to immediately carry out an ocular inspection of El Arca de Noé by the municipal veterinarians, to check if there is abuse or not and the conditions in which the animals are.
Regarding the PROTA association, the Court demanded a bond of 1,000 euros to appear as a popular accusation and it has appealed to the Audiencia the order that requires them to pay that amount as a precaution, and the decision of the chamber is awaited.
