Mediation in the case of Ratona the galgo
Before telling you about Ratona the galgo and the success of mediation in this case, I am going to explain to you what mediation is in legal terms in a case of animal abuse.
Mediation is a legal tool that in cases of animal abuse permits an animal to be voluntarily ceded ( by the abuser) to a third party ( animal welfare association, town hall or private individual) so that this abused animal can be made safe for ever.
A person to whom a mistreated animal is ceded can adopt it immediately and so prevent this animal from being returned to its abuser.
Often when cases of abuse are reported, the animal is seized by the authorities and put temporarily in the care of an animal welfare association, but this care is temporary because it is dependent on the final result of the case.
As such, if the case does not go well or is shelved, the mistreated animal could be claimed by the person who abused it and the person or association who was looking after it provisionally would be legally obliged to return it to its abuser. Isn’t that incredible? Well, now we are going to look at a real case, that of Ratona the galgo and how she was saved thanked to the mediation of a particular person.
Ratona was found abandoned in the streets of a village in Murcia; the poor animal was suffering from malnutrition, with her body covered with alopecia and superficial wounds.
A good person, who is sensitive and has strong values, saw this poor galgo walking around alone in this condition and took her immediately to a vet, where she was given water and food, her injuries were treated and tests were carried out – which detected superficial leishmaniasis but without it affecting her internal organs.
The galgo had not been treated for the leishmaniasis, hence her poor physical condition and superficial wounds, as well as her malnutrition and dehydration from lack of food and water.
Ratona had a microchip and there was no report of her having been lost, so the person who found her took the vet’s report, the number of the microchip and photos of her to make a complaint to the Guardia Civil.
Soon after, the officers found the galgo’s owner, who had been on a trip and had left her in the hands of a relative.
Since Ratona’s owner could not prove they had cared for her properly before going away, the officers charged both the owner and the person who had been looking after her for failing to provide care under the law against animal abuse in article 337 of the penal code.
The person who reported the case took Ratona to an animal welfare association so that they could look after her properly.
Shortly afterwards the association contacted me, as when this case happened I was still actively working as a lawyer in cases of animal abuse, and they did so through my website www. DeAnimals. com
From then on, we mediated to get ownership of Ratona legally ceded, so that she could be safe forever and could never be recovered by her owner in the future, just in case the legal case was shelved or the judge ruled an acquittal.
Ratona was ceded by her owner to the person who rescued her in the street.
The legal case is still going ahead and is awaiting trial.
Ratona is therefore free regardless of whether the trial over her mistreatment and abandonment has a positive or negative verdict.
Ratona has been given up for adoption regardless of the result of the trial and so will never again return to a person who does not look after her properly.
If by chance you find yourself involved with a cases that is similar to that of Ratona, you can contact me and I will put you in touch with a lawyer specialised in animal law who collaborates with me, as nowadays I only dedicate myself to giving training in this subject matter to lawyers, council workers, associations and officers of the law.
Or if you would like to get this training, you can contact me and we could organise an online course that is suited to the needs of your association or group of friends who protect animals.
For more information about animal law in Spain and Raquel’s online courses in the subject, see her website www. deanimals. com