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Ancona, “Cruella De Vil” operation: 40 complaints for animal cruelty and puppy trafficking

52 illegal amputations, international trafficking of 41 dogs with false documents, 29 breeders and 11 vets of valuable breeds reported in 9 regions

Ancona, in recent days the Forestry Carabinieri of the CITES Unit of Ancona have concluded the preliminary investigations, which lasted over two years, directed by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Ancona, which involved numerous subjects: 29 dog breeders of the Pittbull, Dogo Argentino, Cane Corso and other valuable breeds, resident in 9 Italian regions and 11 veterinary doctors, reported for various reasons for the crimes of mistreatment, forgery of public documents, illicit trafficking of pets, abusive practice of the veterinary profession, use of false documents.

It should be noted that throughout the territory of the European Union, following the entry into force of the European Convention for the protection of companion animals concluded in Strasbourg on 13 November 1987, ratified and enforced in Italy with law no. 4 November 2010. 201, amputation of the ears and tail of dogs performed for aesthetic purposes only is prohibited.

From the investigations conducted, it emerged in particular that 16 breeders of dog breeds and 4 veterinary doctors resident in the provinces of Ancona, Macerata and Cosenza were involved in 52 illegal amputations of the ears and tails of Cane Corso, Pitbull and Dogo Argentino, carried out between 2017 and 2019. Some amputation operations were justified with false veterinary certificates, handwritten by the veterinarians themselves and attributed to veterinarians residing abroad who were unaware of the operations performed or non-existent. Seized following searches at 4 Cane Corso and Pitbull breeders, resident in the provinces of Ancona and Bari, were false veterinary stamps and blank veterinary certificates, ready to be filled out and sold to buyers of the dogs to accompany the amputations. Over 40 illegal amputations were attributed to a veterinarian with a clinic in the Province of Macerata who appeared to be operating in a room used as a clinic, located on a Cane Corso breeding farm in the Province of Ancona.

17 breeders of dog breeds and 7 veterinarians were reported for having produced 77 false certificates, including 20 veterinary certificates of dog amputations and 57 health booklets, passports and certificates for the transit of companion animals, documents all falsified in order to illegally export and import puppies under the age permitted by the laws of the destination countries. In particular, 34 exports abroad, mainly to the USA, of Corsican and Neapolitan Mastiff puppies under the age permitted by law were ascertained, with dogs not vaccinated against rabies, false documents certifying vaccination and a date of birth different from the actual one. Furthermore, the illegal importation of 5 dogs of the American pittbull terrier, bulldog and golden retriever breeds, imported on five different occasions into Italy from the USA, under three months of age and without an anti-rabies vaccine, was found.

Furthermore, 59 false documents were attributed to 6 veterinarians based in Ancona, Naples, Viterbo and Matera.

Two veterinarians with clinics in the Province of Macerata were reported in conjunction with two other farmers for the crime of illegal practice of the veterinary profession, as they provided vaccines and microchips to the farmers who then illicitly carried out the inoculations, practices entrusted exclusively to veterinary doctors .

Finally, a dog transporter and breeder, resident in Bari, was reported for having falsified, in competition with other breeders and veterinarians, the documents for the export of 30 dogs of the Corso, Dachshund and Neapolitan mastiff breeds to the USA and for having imported from the USA . 5 dogs of the American pittbull terrier, bulldog and golden retriever breed, with false documents, under three months of age and without anti-rabies vaccination, thus configuring the crime of illicit trafficking of companion animals. Found during searches at the farmer's home, false anti-rabies vaccine labels, false export documents and health records.

The conchectomization operations (ear amputation) for aesthetic reasons alone, which give a more aggressive appearance to the animals, were carried out to collect the profits obtained from veterinary amputations, equal to approximately 200 euros per specimen, but also to make the dogs more attractive to foreign buyers, in countries where ear and tail cropping is not permitted.

The crimes alleged against the 40 subjects are all of a criminal nature, and are punished with imprisonment of up to 18 months for pet trafficking and mistreatment and with imprisonment of up to three years for the abusive practice of a profession, in addition to heavy fines .

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