24 Arrested in Quintana Roo for Animal Abuse

Quintana Roo, Mexico — The Attorney General's Office of the State of Quintana Roo has disclosed that from July 2023 to the present, 24 people have been detained for the crime of animal cruelty, reflecting an increasingly strict application of the law to protect fauna in the state.

Attorney General Raciel López Salazar detailed that the most recent case occurred in Tulum on September 22, when Leonardo, 37, and Bersaín, 42, were detained. The arrests followed the circulation of a video on social media showing the individuals throwing a feline into a water pond while mockingly referencing the song "El gato volador."

Through coordination between the Municipal Police, the Directorate of Animal Protection and Welfare, and authorities in Tulum, the responsible parties were located and placed before a control judge. Both have since been indicted and face the precautionary measure of justified preventive prison for a period of two years.

"This should serve as an example; truly, all people who engage in this inappropriate, wrongful, and malicious conduct will be prosecuted, because these are animals that we love, that we must care for and protect," said the Attorney General.

Of the 24 individuals detained since July 2023, 80 percent have been indicted. In 2025 alone, eight people have already been subjected to judicial process for animal mistreatment.