The trial against the illegal slaughterhouse of Aiara starts this Monday

The trial against the illegal slaughterhouse in the Aiara region of Alava, which concluded in 2018, begins this Monday, six years after the events that captured the Ertzaintza seven people.

The trial will take place in four sittings in the court of Álava, until Thursday the 30th, for the alleged crimes of belonging to criminal organization, falsification of official documents, animal abuse and against public health. The Public Prosecution Service is demanding sentences of a total of eleven years and four months in prison against the main defendants responsible for the slaughterhouse.

According to the tax classification, those responsible for the slaughterhouse, two brothers, in order to support and cover up the activities of the illegal slaughterhouse, formed a conspiracy intended for the supply of livestock from illegal sales, and the subsequent uncontrolled distribution of meat intended for human consumption.

According to the Public Prosecution Service, the cattle were slaughtered in the slaughterhouse in accordance with the regulations of the Islamic rite (halal)“by making an incision in the neck, without prior anesthesia, and allowing the animal to bleed completely.”

In addition, they worked in facilities that were not suitable for animal slaughter, which was carried out by people without training and without the necessary skills to handle the animals, causing the animal to suffer. intense pain, anxiety and fear“, said the Public Prosecution Service.

It is estimated that an average of two cows and twenty-five sheep were killed every week, without administrative permits or health checks.

These cattle were offered by owners from Bizkaia and Cantabria and were animals that had no sales market on the legal market and “for those seeking returns on the black market.”

The group also had members involved in the marketing and distribution of that meat, which was largely intended for private homes Bilbao and Vitoriaamong other locations.

Some bars and food establishments also received periodic shipments of these goods.

The transport took place in private vehicles without refrigeration nor the necessary sanitary measures and animal waste was largely transported and left in a gorge in the Peña Angulo area, northern Burgos.

The Ertzaintza arrested seven people, aged between 32 and 59 at the time: four people on the farm, a fifth in Vitoria, as the person responsible for distributing part of the illegal production to individuals, and another two in Karrantza (Bizkaia). , who apparently regularly supplied livestock for this illegal slaughter.