Spanish court left in shock as domestic abuse victim’s pet is dragged into violence

For many people, a beloved pet is part of the family. So imagine being in an abusive relationship where that animal also becomes a victim, used as another way for someone to frighten, control or punish you. It is a particularly cruel form of abuse because the threat is not only against you, but against something you love and cannot protect from the person hurting you.

That is what a woman experienced during a relationship that involved years of threats, violence and intimidation. A court has now sentenced her former partner to more than four years in prison after hearing how he used her pet rabbit in one of the most disturbing episodes of abuse in the case.

Shocking act of violence towards a pet

Recent reports indicate that woman’s then partner killed the rabbit in front of her before cooking it and then trying to force her eat it, according to the court. The animal was used as part of a deliberate campaign of humiliation and terror against its owner.

The events took place in Montserrat, Valencia, between December 27 and 29, 2021. According to the court’s findings, the abuse began after an argument in which the woman accidentally spat at her partner while blowing hair off of a shaving machine. His response was to tie her up, put a knife to her neck and threaten to kill her.

The abuse progressed

He also threatened to throw her alive into a fireplace and told her there would be blood that night. The woman was eventually untied, but the violence continued. The man forced her hold her rabbit by its legs while he killed the animal with a knife in front of her, telling her he was doing it so she would learn a lesson.

When she escaped to the bathroom and locked herself inside, he broke through the door, dragged her back into the dining room and made her look at the dead rabbit. He then smeared the animal’s blood over her face. Hours later, he cooked the rabbit and tried to make her eat it.

The killing of her pet formed part of a pattern of abuse that the woman had suffered throughout the relationship. The court heard that she was subjected to repeated physical attacks, threats and degrading treatment between October 2021 and January 2022. On one occasion, the man hit her on the head, arms, legs and face with a stick. On another, he tied her hands and feet, put her face down and threatened to cut her throat and throw her into a fireplace.

Abuse continued until she left

She was also forced to kneel on rice scattered across the floor for an hour while being beaten, including punches to her eyes. In January 2022, he punched her in the nose because, according to the court evidence, she was talking too much. When she finally found the courage to eventually leave the home on January 16, he grabbed her by the hair and punched her in the left eye. She reported the abuse the following day after a Guardia Civil patrol attended the property.

The court found that the relationship involved a continuing situation of power and domination, with the violence making living together unbearable. The sentence includes convictions for four offences of physical abuse in the context of gender violence, injury, continuing threats, habitual abuse, an offence against moral integrity and animal cruelty. He must also pay his former partner €3,420 in compensation, while a 1,000-metre restraining and no-contact order has been imposed for 24 years. He has also been banned from working with animals or keeping them for three years.

Abuse can take many forms

Physical violence is only one form of abuse. Physical abuse can include hitting, kicking, choking, burning, restraining someone or using a weapon against them, while psychological and emotional abuse can involve constant humiliation, insults, intimidation, threats, manipulation or deliberately making someone afraid.

Sexual abuse includes sexual activity without consent, unwanted sexual contact and being pressured or forced into sexual acts. Economic abuse can mean controlling someone’s access to money, taking their income, preventing them from working or deliberately making them financially dependent.

Coercive control can include monitoring someone’s movements, controlling who they see or speak to, isolating them from friends and family, dictating what they wear or using threats to make them comply. Pets can also become part of that pattern, with an abusive partner threatening, harming or killing an animal because they know how much it means to the person they are trying to control.

Help is available in Spain

Spain takes domestic violence and abuse very seriously and you do not have to wait for physical violence to begin before asking for help. If someone is frightening you, controlling you, belittling you, threatening you, isolating you or making you feel that you cannot leave safely, those are all reasons to seek support, it is never your fault and you never deserve it. Experts warn that abusive behaviour rarely changes for good without intervention and years of therapy, and can become more severe over time, making it important to seek support sooner rather than later.

Spain’s 016 service provides free and confidential information, legal advice and psychological support for victims of gender violence. It can also be contacted by friends, family members or anyone concerned about someone who may be experiencing abuse. The service can be reached through WhatsApp on 600 000 016. If you are in immediate danger, call 112. Remember, your voice is your power, don’t be afraid to speak up and speak out.