Second court ruling overturned to allow Alhaurín horse charity to recover costs of care for abused animals

The Andalusian Rescue Centre for Horses (ARCH) has had another verdict overturned by the provincial courts that will allow it to recover the costs incurred in rescuing and rehabilitating an abused horse.

The case involved “a severely malnourished and scruffy young mare”, called Princesa that arrived at the centre in 2020. The animal was in such "bad condition” that the charity’s animal rights lawyer, Aritz Toribio, used the case in his internet seminars to show the extent of animal cruelty that the centre has to deal with.

Earlier this month, ARCH set what it called “a precedent for animal charities” when its lawyer had a court ruling overturned in a case involving a pony that suffered from total and long-term neglect. The judge ruled in favour of the charity, making the animal’s previous owner liable to pay costs for its treatment and care.

“ARCH always prosecutes abuse where it is possible. We have waited four long years for justice for Princesa. This week, finally, the case came to court after several false starts. The former owner will now be serving a jail sentence and is banned from keeping animals. We have also been awarded the substantial costs, underlining the victory we won recently when the provincial court ruled that costs should be awarded in such cases,” president Jill Newman-Roger told SUR in English.