HISTORIC WIN FOR ANIMALS: Lady Freethinker Investigation Nets Chile’s Strongest-Ever Sentence for Animal Cruelty

Lady Freethinker’s investigation into a cruel dogfight breeding facility has led to an unprecedented victory for the animals: For the first time in Chile’s history, a judge issued the maximum possible sentence for animal abuse under new laws, sending the message that cruelty to animals will no longer be tolerated. And for the first time in the country, the court barred an offender from ever having an animal again.

After LFT exposed his cruel dog kennels, defendant Gonzalo Ariel Rebolledo Robles — a known dogfighting organizer — was issued three years imprisonment, as well as the maximum fine possible and a lifelong ban on keeping animals.

This is the strongest conviction of its kind achieved in Chile. The case will set a national precedent.

The case against Robles began in July 2018 when our investigator traveled to Chile and discovered 21 dogs confined in miserable conditions on a plot of land in the town of Llay Llay. The dogs, some displaying infected wounds and scars suggestive of dogfighting, were kept on short chains and in filthy kennels with no food or water. Sadly, three dogs lay dead and decomposing on the ground. An autopsy report revealed they most likely starved to death — a fact that later played a major role in sentencing.

Dozens of hens and cockfighting roosters also lived in cramped cages on the premises.

LFT’s investigator reported the evidence, and police raided the property that night and rescued all 21 dogs.

Our petition following the investigation garnered over 22,000 signatures urging prosecutors to take this and other animal cruelty cases seriously. Your voices were heard.

This historic sentence means that animal abusers in Chile will now think twice before committing heinous crimes.

Thank you to our readers who signed the petition and lent your voices to protect animals. Thank you to the Chilean law enforcement, media and local activists who worked exhaustively to enforce the recent laws passed to strengthen protections for animals.

Today, we are one step closer to protecting animals from horrific abuse. The Chilean government is setting the tone, and we hope that this case sends a global message that animal cruelty will not be tolerated.