Life4dogs
Magazine
Hall of Shame – In memory of the victims
Every year millions of tourists fly to the island Tenerife in search of sun, beaches, and palm trees. But behind the glittering facade of the holiday paradise lies a bloody reality that few want to acknowledge: dogfights – Illegal, barbaric – and deeply rooted here of all places.
The Guardia Civil and the Policía Nacional uncoveredin 2017 a national network of dogfights – and Tenerife was right in the middle of it. The main hub was in Güímar, a town better known for its volcanic landscapes and hiking trails. In reality, it was a center of cruelty.
In a spectacular raid, officers seized 230 dogs. Many were injured, traumatized, or already destroyed by years of training and abuse. Investigators found doping substances, surgical tools for mutilations, illegal breeding stations, and improvised fighting arenas. Puppies were brutalized, pumped full of anabolic steroids, and systematically prepared for a life of suffering.
Tenerife was not a marginal player but the nerve center of a mafia-style structure that organized fights across Spain, with links to Madrid, Alicante, and Murcia.
Police arrested around 40 people. And it wasn’t only shady characters from the underworld. Among the perpetrators were:
People who should have stood for law, protection, and life were instead at the heart of this barbaric machinery. A veterinarian – whose profession is to save lives – preparing dogs for the ring is a slap in the face to anyone who still believes in humanity.
These perpetrators were not outsiders – they were part of a system that profits from animal suffering. For them, dogs were not sentient beings but gambling chips in a perverse blood sport.
The media celebrated the raid as the “dismantling of Spain’s biggest dogfighting mafia.” But that was an illusion. Dogfights did not disappear. They simply moved deeper underground, becoming more secretive, more cunning – but no less cruel. Insiders report that fights are now held in hidden locations, known only through coded invitations.
The blood business goes on. The perpetrators know: the risk is low, the penalties laughable – and as long as that remains the case, the cruelty is profitable.
Even more shocking than the crimes themselves is how the justice system handled them. In one trial, 23 defendants faced demands from prosecutors for between three and seven years in prison each – a total of up to 102 years.
The reality? 19 of the accused struck deals with prosecutors and avoided harsh sentences. Many received less than two years – which in Spain means: not a single night in prison.
Even a police officer, veterinarians, and well-known organizers walked free. This is what “justice” looks like: mercy for the torturers, lifelong scars for the victims.
And the unanswered question remains: Why did only 23 of the original 40 arrests lead to trial? Whether for lack of evidence, shady deals, or simple negligence – the gap is a scandal in itself.
While tourists sip cocktails at Playa de las Américas, blood is spilled in the hinterland. Tenerife presents itself to the world as a dream destination, yet behind closed doors dogs are forced to fight to exhaustion or death. This is the island’s dark face.
The hypocrisy is unbearable. Politicians spend millions on glossy advertising campaigns to sell Tenerife as the “Island of Happiness” – while turning a blind eye to dogfights in their own backyard. Tourists see sun and beaches, while just a few kilometers away animals die.
Dogfights have been banned in Spain for years. But a law is worthless if it is not enforced. Politicians congratulate themselves on symbolic “successes,” police and courts deliver headlines – but in reality, little changes.
Spain celebrated its new Animal Welfare Law in 2023 – yet as long as perpetrators escape with suspended sentences, as long as veterinarians and police officers can be part of the scene without consequences, it remains nothing but a paper tiger.
The reality is simple: politics and justice fail. And while they fail, the dogs pay the price – with flesh, blood, and life.
Tenerife sells itself as the island of happiness. But in the shadows lives another Tenerife – the Tenerife of dogfights, mafia networks, and blood. Everyone involved – the organizers, the breeders, the veterinarians, the police officer, judges with velvet gloves, politicians without courage – they all belong in the Hall of Shame.
Dogfights are not a sport, not a tradition, not culture. They are organized torture and murder. And in Tenerife, at the heart of the Canary Islands, they are not history – they are reality.
Sources & Links:
“El Díaro – 230 animals freed after network organizing dog fights across Spain is dismantled”
“El Díario – Almost all members of the national network that organized dog fights in the Canary Islands and other communities avoid prison”
“RTVE – Most of those prosecuted for organizing dog fights reach an agreement whereby they will avoid jail time”
“Read more about the new animal welfare law in Spain”
