A Spanish court has issued a landmark ruling by convicting a man for killing a puppy in front of his partner, marking the first time that gender violence legislation has been applied to animal abuse.
The gender violence court in Gran Canaria ruled that the 18-year-old defendant deliberately hurled the couple’s four-month-old puppy off a cliff while also threatening to end his own life.
According to the judgment dated 22 September, the man received a one-year-and-one-day prison sentence, suspended.
‘The animal’s death was intentionally employed as a means to inflict psychological damage,’ the court noted.
The ruling concluded that the incident should be treated ‘through a gender perspective’ and classified as ‘vicarious violence against a companion animal’, which the court said demands ‘stronger punitive measures’.
Vicarious violence – sometimes described as violence by proxy – is generally understood as a form of gendered abuse in which a partner harms children to cause suffering to their mother.
Spain’s General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), the body overseeing the judiciary, stressed that this was the first time such legislation had been extended to cover an act of cruelty against an animal, describing it as a ‘groundbreaking ruling’.
‘The death of the animal was the instrument chosen to cause psychological damage … This is not a mere simultaneous act, but rather a specific purpose: to kill the animal to psychologically break the woman,’ the judgment stated, according to the CGPJ.
The woman suffered psychological harm and required medical treatment, the watchdog added.
Alongside the suspended jail term, the court prohibited the man from contacting or approaching the woman for two years and one day.
Spain has long positioned itself at the forefront of tackling gender-based violence. The country’s 2005 law introduced sweeping protections for women, including specialised courts, free legal aid, emergency shelters, and the ability to prosecute cases even without a formal complaint from the victim. ALSO READ: Spain overhauls ‘VioGén’ programme used to identify potential victims of domestic violence.
The government not only tracks femicides but also monitors cases of vicarious violence. Data from the equality ministry shows that since 2013, more than 60 children have been killed by their father, or by their mother’s partner or former partner.
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Matar a la mascota de una pareja puede considerarse violencia vicaria.
— Telediarios de TVE (@telediario_tve) September 23, 2025
Es la novedosa sentencia que ha dictado un juzgado en Gran Canaria.
▶ ️ https://t.co/ZgJQU9hIkG pic.twitter.com/VaHJqiFvc7
La titular del juzgado de violencia de género nº 2 de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Mª Auxiliadora Díaz, ha dictado la primera sentencia de violencia vicaria en la justicia española por matar al perro de su expareja.
— RTVECanarias (@RTVECanarias) September 24, 2025
◾️Considera probado que pretendía hacerla sufrir.
🎙️Beas
🎥Galán pic.twitter.com/kggWFUZdtL
‼️Un fallo pionero declara #ViolenciaVicaria matar a un perro para hacer sufrir a la pareja
— Macarena Baena Garrido (@macarena_baena) September 24, 2025
Un juzgado de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria ha condenado a 12 meses y un día de cárcel a un hombre por tirar por un risco al perro de su pareja#ViolenciaGénerohttps://t.co/Craf7GtPlj
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