Man sentenced in landmark case after throwing his partner's dog off cliff in Spain's Canary Islands 'to make her suffer'

The court of violence against women of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has sentenced a local resident to one year and one day in prison for throwing the four-month-old puppy he and his partner shared as a pet off a coastal cliff, causing its death. The incident happened on 13 September, in the presence of the partner, and the case has been investigated by the aforementioned court due to the psychological suffering caused to the woman.

This is a novel ruling in that, applying the gender perspective to the case, it assumes jurisdiction to hear a crime which, in principle, would not be a matter for the court of violence against women. However, the case is consistent with a crime of psychological abuse.

According to judge Auxiliadora Díaz, "the death of the animal was the instrument chosen to cause psychological damage (...). It is not a mere factual simultaneity, but a concrete purpose: to kill the animal in order to emotionally break the woman".

The ruling stated as proven facts that, on 13 September, the accused phoned his then partner and told her: "I'm going to kill the dog and then I'll kill myself."

According to the sentence, he then walked along the Paseo de las Canteras to the Rincón road, where his partner showed up with the intention of taking the puppy from him. Once there, the defendant reportedly told her to not go near him because, otherwise, he would "throw the dog" and "kill" himself.

Then, "with the intention of undermining the mental integrity of his partner, he threw the dog off the cliff". The puppy hit the breakwater and died. The violent incident caused psychological damage to the woman, as intended by the defendant, and she was given an "estimated healing period of 90 days".

According to the court, the case can be described as one "of vicarious violence towards a pet, the purpose of which was to perpetuate the domination and control over the woman, which implies the need for an aggravated punitive response and effective protective measures".

By criminalising the psychological harm to the woman, in addition to the animal abuse, the court has enabled protective measures for the victim. In addition to the prison sentence, which is suspended as the defendant has no previous record and the sentence is shorter than two years, the man has been banned from approaching the complainant or communicating with her by any means for two years and one day.

The sentence is final, as the accused admitted to the incident and settled for the penalty. The speedy trial was held on Monday, 22 September.