Dog dragged by car
Spanish police arrested the driver of this vehicle Guardia Civil

KEY POINTS

  • The Guardia Civil have arrested the driver of the four-wheel-drive.
  • The German Shepherd died from horrific injuries.

This is the moment Spanish police saw a four-wheel drive dragging a fatally wounded puppy along a road. Officers have arrested the driver, who is accused of killing the German Shepherd by towing it along the highway for several kilometres.

The creature's back legs were tied by a rope to the back of the vehicle, which was driving at high speed along the A-8201 in Cadiz, when officers spotted it.

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They ordered the car to stop and discovered that the dog had suffered horrific wounds consistent with being dragged along the road.

The driver is in custody suspected of animal abuse. If charged and found guilty, they could be facing a jail sentence.

Spain's state police, the Guardia Civil, said in a statement: "The events took place when a civil patrol was travelling on the A-8201 road in the Jimena municipal district, and observed an all-terrain vehicle that was moving along along the road dragging an object that had been tied to the towing ball.

"When the patrol approached they could see that what was dragging was a dog, so they immediately stopped the vehicle and found that it was a German shepherd puppy tied with a rope by the hind legs to the ball. The animal presented an unfortunate physical condition."

"The animal, which lacked a microchip, died from the injuries and was taken away by Zoosanitary Control of Los Barrios, while the driver of the vehicle was brought to trial as a defendant accused of a crime of abuse."

The incident took place near the historic village of Jimena de la Frontera in the Cadiz region of Andalucia, an area noted for its natural beauty and ancient history.

Last week, IBTimes UK published harrowing footage from inside the Indonesian meat trade after animal rights campaigners secretly filmed dogs being kidnapped, battered to death, skinned and gutted in front of one another.

If you need to report cruelty or an animal in distress then visit the RSPCA website and read its cruelty checklist for further information.