Javier Larrea, founder of the Animal Welfare Cuba (BAC) group, reported an extreme case of animal cruelty that occurred on September 13 in the Vista Alegre neighborhood of Holguín: a dog was beaten to death by two men identified in the citizen's complaint, while neighbors attempted in vain to stop the assault.
According to the report captured in a video on Facebook, the animal —a medium-sized dog with yellow and white fur and a rope around its neck— was in fear and took shelter between two houses on González Claver street.
The report points to two men. The first, identified as Alejandro Batista, allegedly began to hit the dog after it entered the entrance of a home. Subsequently, another man named Noel Santana is said to have continued the assault.
"The dog ended up dead," Larrea stated in the video, in which he described the case as one of the most difficult to come to terms with in his history of activism.
"Several neighbors tried in every way to stop what was happening and to find solutions. They offered to take the dog to a veterinarian and even to cover the expenses. There was an alternative to save it, but it was rejected at every turn; they did not want to do it," Larrea stated.
As a subsequent justification, the alleged aggressors claimed that the dog had rabies. BAC categorically rejected that argument.
"A suspicion of rabies requires veterinary intervention and the corresponding health protocols from the Ministry of Public Health. It cannot automatically become a justification for brutally killing an animal with such violence," the activist stated.
BAC called on witnesses, neighbors, and anyone with evidence—videos, photographs, audio recordings, or images from security cameras—to submit them to the organization to document the case.
"We can no longer bring that dog back to life, but we can prevent its death from becoming just another story that everyone will forget tomorrow," he concluded.
The case occurs in a province with a concerning history. According to Larrea, Holguín ranks second among Cuban provinces with the highest number of reported animal abuse cases by BAC. In May, the organization reported a carriage driver recorded hitting a fallen horse in the street for over an hour.
Nationally, just two weeks prior, BAC had reported another brutal case in Pinar del Río, where a young man was filmed bringing a cat close to dogs so that they would attack it.
Cuba approved Animal Welfare Decree-Law No. 31 in 2021, which establishes obligations for rest, feeding, and load limitations for working animals, but animal rights organizations report that its implementation is virtually nonexistent.
The Cuban legal framework does not classify animal abuse as a criminal offense. The mentioned regulation only includes fines of up to 4,000 pesos for individuals, an amount that activists consider to be very low. A documented case in Mayarí, Holguín, resulted in a fine of only 1,500 pesos for killing a cat.
In April 2025, animal protection groups demanded that Decree-Law 31 be enforced more strictly in light of the repeated incidents of abuse.
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