The practice had been common since January 2024, but it was only at the beginning of 2026 that it was confirmed that a group of livestock businessmen were transporting cows “in an agonizing state” and in very poor overall condition to a slaughterhouse in Burgos. The Nature Protection Service of the Civil Guard (Seprona) has brought eight people before the courts accused of animal abuse crimes due to the conditions in which the livestock was transported to the Burgos slaughterhouse. “The specimens came from dairy farms and were transported for slaughter in an agonizing state, cachectic [with extreme malnutrition], with reduced mobility, with trauma at origin or in advanced gestation,” states the official statement, with multiple details about the very poor health of animals destined for human consumption. The veterinarians of the Junta of Castilla and León detected these episodes and prompted the investigation.
The Burgos agents in charge of Operation Leiteira have dismantled an operation involving farmers, transporters, dealers, and businessmen in this sector, colluding in this scheme. The eight accused are between 28 and 52 years old, and three of them come from Lugo, two from A Coruña, one from Cantabria, another from Bizkaia, and another from Portugal. All eight are accused of animal abuse crimes and are linked to “irregularities constituting administrative infractions.”
The first indications came in January 2026 thanks to the veterinarians of the Junta, who called Seprona “upon noticing the poor conditions of a cattle transport destined for slaughter.” The officers confirmed that there were four cows in the vehicle that “had not been able to disembark due to their deplorable state, one of them agonizing.” Upon inspecting the facilities, they saw “extremely emaciated, dying animals and several cattle grouped with wounds on the spine and hip, specimens of the Friesian breed, coming from intensive dairy production farms.”
There were also reports of “the use of prohibited handling methods, animals transported without compassion, with open fractures and dystocic births [that last longer than usual], with multi-organ failure and in shock.” This situation was “irreversible” in several cases, and the animals had to be urgently slaughtered due to their condition. Seprona has assured that these events have been occurring at least since January 2024 and that there are seven similar cases.
The habitual malpractice occurred during the transport of the cows and in the loading and unloading operations of the specimens, flagrantly ignoring the requirements of animal welfare regulations. Among the group of businessmen, farmers, dealers, and transporters, their commercial and economic interests prevailed over minimal dignified conditions for the cows, and these cannot be considered “isolated incidents,” but rather the result of “a chain of negligent decisions by the eight identified individuals.”
