Representatives from the Nature Conservation Service, Seprona, of the Valencian Civil Guard, together with the Central Operational Peripheral Unit, filed a criminal complaint after uncovering a collection of taxidermied animals. The collection belonged to the son of a well-known Valencian businessman who died in 2014. The set displayed hundreds of items, many of them mutilated, and originated from Africa where they were hunted as trophies.
The seizure, announced yesterday by Cadena Ser, involved a property under investigation in Bétera. Information gathered by this newspaper indicates that some animals filled a residence, while many specimens were stored in a warehouse on a large plot that hosts multiple buildings.
Among the items are valuable specimens such as African lions, Bengal tigers, a white rhinoceros, and even giraffes, as well as dozens of elephant tusks. All of these are protected species. A criminal complaint has been filed against the person involved, although no arrest had been made at the time of reporting. The case is classified as a crime against flora and fauna.
Agents from Seprona, based at the Valencia Command, accounted for and cataloged the animal cemetery. The collection was found at the home of the son of a former Valencia CF president and steel magnate. The authorities are compiling details to determine the level of protection for each species and to identify potential offenses being investigated by the Lliria Court.
secret information
The police operation began several months ago. Investigators received precise information that pointed to the Ros Casares family, a businessman with ties to his father, keeping hundreds of stuffed exotic animals at one of the sons’ homes.
Seprona, guided by Ucoma, opened an inquiry and, after verifying the information, sought a court order to enter the residence and confiscate specimens of protected species. The animals were removed from the house and placed in a court custody warehouse as part of the ongoing investigation.
Most of the specimens were hunted on safaris in Africa, although some native fauna items, such as deer, elk, or wild boar, were also present.
Stock image of stuffed wild animals. / MAX. WHITE PERSON
Alicante’s Seprona has previously struck hard against illegal wildlife trade, dismantling three illegal taxidermy workshops three years ago and seizing more than 200 specimens of protected species, including African lions, white rhinos, Bengal tigers, hippos, African crocodiles, and giraffes.
The operation named Taxideralia, conducted within the Bétera initiative against wildlife smuggling led by the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Seprona, authorized the investigation of six individuals. Four residents of Elx, Alicante, Aspe, and Villafranqueza faced charges for crimes against fauna, while two others, from Alicante and Murcia, faced administrative, not criminal, responsibility.