In the indictment, to which Lusa news agency had access, the Public Ministry (MP) describes the state of health of each of the animals when they were seized and the bullfighter arrested by GNR, on 19 February 2020.
Some animals, according to the indictment, were thin but all the greyhounds seized had injuries or abrasions and infections caused by parasites, and some had diseases, without there being "any signs of treatment", the Public Prosecutor's Office said in the indictment.
A female dog, almost eight years old, that "suffered from acute liver and kidney failure" and "deep cuts in the metacarpal area with no signs of healing", ended up dying on the day of the GNR operation.
After being seized and sheltered, the Public Ministry points out, the remaining animals "evolved quickly and favourably", showed "much appetite" and improved "their general condition".
The MP adds that, at least, between December 2019 and until 19 February, 2020, João Moura "deprived the 18 animals of access to water and food in sufficient quantity, clean housing, any health and hygiene care, vaccination and deworming treatments".
On the day of the police operation, the dogs were "confined in horse stalls, two to five animals per stall, without any equipment or utensils to provide food or water".
"The spaces where they were housed had a large accumulation of excrement from many days" and the dogs "did not have a dry and soft space to rest, sleeping on the cement and on the accumulated excrement," describes the MP.
The indictment concludes that João Moura, instead of "providing health care, nutrition and hygiene" to the animals, "treated them cruelly, knowing that with his conduct he caused them injury, pain, hunger, thirst, discomfort and, as a result, suffering."
The bullfighter João Moura was charged with 18 crimes of mistreatment of companion animals, which occurred in 2019 and 2020, on his property in Monforte, in the district of Portalegre, the MP announced today.
In a statement published on 5 January on the website of the Portalegre District Prosecutor's Office, in which João Moura is not identified, the Public Prosecutor's Office revealed that it has filed charges and requested the trial of the defendant, as he is "strongly suspected" of committing those crimes.
Judicial sources contacted by Lusa news agency revealed that the accused is João Moura.
The bullfighter is accused of 17 crimes of mistreatment of pets and one of aggravated mistreatment of pets, for facts that, according to the MP, will have occurred between December 2019 and February 2020.
João Moura was arrested by GNR, on 19 February, 2020, on suspicion of ill-treatment of animals, following the fulfilment of a search warrant to his property, which resulted in the seizure of 18 dogs.