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North EDITION
07 - 15 DEC 2011
Protest grows over cruelty claims
Call to arms
INFLUENTIAL MEP Diana Wallis has called for European Union action over the ongoing and well-publicised property abuses people are suffering in Spain p5
Electric shock
by Jack Troughton
COSTA BLANCA householder Arnold Kitching has warned of the frustrations, time and cost of getting electricity turned back on after an unpaid bill meant Iberdrola pulled the plug p10
Valuing a “Usufruct” or lifetime interest Find out more on p29
Apartment terraces and balconies: December tasks Clodagh and Dick tell you what you need to do for December p43
Woeful Wednesday See what Andy Kay has to say about the Premier League after both Manchester clubs were knocked out of the Champions League, and then entered into the Europa League p63
Issue 634
Barry Morrow has now been arrested by Merseyside Police
Murder suspect arrested RTN WAS asked this week to appeal for the whereabouts of a man who Merseyside Police believe has vital information relating to the murders of a mother and daughter in Southport. Merseyside Police Press Office contacted RTN to ask us to help in the appeal for Barry Morrow, who they believed was heading to the Costa Blanca. Read the full story on page 4...
ANGRY EXPATS have joined hundreds of outraged animal lovers calling for an urgent criminal investigation of “horrific” conditions at a Costa Blanca animal refuge. A string of allegations of cruelty at the Benidorm Sociedad Protectora de Animales y Platas (SPAP) have been lodged with the courts and pressure is growing for a prosecution of those responsible. And a campaign launched by volunteer workers at the sanctuary past and present is beginning to bear fruit – a petition demanding action has already gathered more than 1,000 signatures, many of them British, Dutch and German as well as Spanish. Some 30 official complaints have been lodged with SEPRONA, the part of the Guardia Civil responsible for animal welfare and the environment, and the ‘denuncias’ are waiting to be heard in court. Meanwhile, campaigners are continue to gather evidence from people who have adopted animals – including accusations that a banned drug was used to put animals to sleep, the muscle relaxant leaving them dying in agony.
TROUBLE SPAP denies all the allegations made against the shelter, which has been operating for 40 years, and in a press release said that a SEPRONA inspection found no evidence of cruelty. The charity’s directors blame the attack on the shelter on “troublemakers” But animal lovers say the accusations of cruelty can only be decided by the courts and underlined a series of deficiencies at the shelter reported by the police. They included animals were fed left-over food from the restaurants, kept at 33 degrees in the summer, and animals were kept in crowded and dirty conditions. It is also understood inspectors found the bodies of dead animals were inadequately stored before incineration, and there was an open trench full of excrement and old food at the rear of the facility emitting “putrefying smells”. RTN was told: “None of this is something an animal shelter should feel proud of. In our opinion, it is an indication that SPAP Benidorm is not suited to running a humane and efficient animal shelter. Continued on page 3