Kimberley Mannion
AUTHORITIES have dismantled the lucrative business of the Spanish dog vampire – a man who kept roughly 500 corpses of cats and dogs whose blood he drained to sell.
Luis Miguel VF has been uncovered after almost 20 years of running an illegal animal blood bank with no license.
Suspicions were raised when the local incinerator in the Toledo town of Yuncos noticed the man bringing heavy rubbish bags to the premises every two weeks.
Miguel is now being accused of draining the cadavers of the animals and selling their blood for profit.
Investigations led officers to Miguel’s farm in the town of Humanes in Madrid from which they rescued 257 dogs and 15 cats.
Over his near 20 years of operation, the vampire is thought to have racked up a profit of almost €1 million.
The animal blood business is a lucrative market since there is no equivalent blood bank for pets, meaning supply is extremely limited.
Private companies would apparently buy the blood from Miguel before selling it to veterinary clinics for transfusions.
Miguel was thus able to amass a blood empire with both national and international clients.
The investigation found at least 60 animals slain for their blood on the premises between April and May.
The investigation also concluded that the blood was taken straight from the heart so as to siphon as much animal blood as possible in the shortest time.
The most common dog victim was the greyhound, a breed commonly discarded by hunters at the end of hunting season.
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