From a few autonomy
In Alicante, the Nature Conservation Service of the Civil Guard, known as Seprona, dismantled a conspiracy centered on secretly slaughtering goats and sheep to illegally market their meat. During the operation, 305 animals were seized in Alicante and Cox, and 22 people were charged, with ten investigated for offenses against public health, animal abuse, misrepresentation, document tampering, and the crime of simulation.
The remaining 12 individuals filed administrative complaints for several violations under the Valencia Community Livestock Act 6/2003. Specifically, they faced charges related to transporting animals without sanitary documentation, lack of traceability and animal identity, failure to provide mandatory food chain information, unauthorized facilities, and illegal slaughter plus fraudulent use of identification marks. The Alicante Command indicated that these violations carry fines ranging from 600 to 1,200,000 euros.
Named Chiqueros, the operation began with an inspection of an animal farm in Alicante. There Seprona found hundreds of sheep and goats with ear tags removed to prevent identification. The animals were overcrowded, injured, malnourished, and kept in appalling hygienic conditions without veterinary oversight, according to the Civil Guard.
Traceability and origin
Agents immobilized the animals and started tracing their origins. It became clear they came from multiple countries, evidenced by the presence of rumen boluses in some animals. Farms in Valencia, the Region of Murcia, Andalusia, and Castilla-La Mancha were listed as origin in official documents they were supposed to be transported to a slaughterhouse in Cartagena for processing, but the shipments never occurred.
The Civil Guard later uncovered another cattle ranch in Cox, where an additional 200 animals were found in similar distressing conditions, with some proving positive for tuberculosis and traced back to the same supplier network.
Investigators confirmed that three of those investigated formed a structured criminal group that specialized in this scheme. They allegedly moved animals with falsified veterinary documents toward a Cartagena slaughterhouse, with some orders to destroy the animals by health authorities ignored in practice.
Instead of reaching the Cartagena facility, the animals were diverted to farms around Alicante and Cox where they were slaughtered and sold irregularly. In several cases, animals’ origins had been misrepresented, and farmers were enticed with higher prices than those paid at recognized slaughterhouses, fueling illegal meat sales.
During the operation, Seprona immobilized 305 goats and sheep due to contamination risk and the inability to verify veterinary treatments or traceability across the supply chain. The decision was taken to cull and dispose of the affected animals to protect public health.
Nine men and one woman, along with twelve more men under criminal investigation, faced charges. All involved individuals were Spanish nationals aged between 31 and 79 years.
Evidence from Seprona proceedings was transferred to the Alicante Education Court and administrative files were forwarded to the Valencian General Directorate of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, the General Directorate of Livestock, Fisheries and Marine Resources of the Murcia Region, and the General Directorate of Public Health in Murcia. The authorities reviewed the case to understand the full extent of the incident and its impact on both animal welfare and public health.
The operation was carried out by the Seprona patrol from the Alicante Civil Guard Command, in collaboration with inspectors and veterinarians from the Alicante and Orihuela regional agricultural offices, and staff from the ministry’s VAERSA public company. The Ministry of Agriculture participated in the identification, tagging, and sanitation of animals on the involved farms, reinforcing the response to this serious breach of animal health and food safety standards.
Traceability and safety
The Civil Guard issued a statement emphasizing that every animal-producing region maintains a traceability system to guarantee the health and safety of the products offered to the public. Animal identity is crucial to tracing every stage in the food chain. Across Europe, the bolus in the rumen of ruminant animals is a common practice for identification and traceability. In the agri-food sector, traceability remains a fundamental duty of professionals as a core sanitary guarantee for the products they provide to consumers.