A group of migrants in Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta has been accused of killing a young dolphin after video showed men carrying the animal along a beach, fueling public anger as the city struggles with a massive influx of migrants.
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JUST IN: 🇪🇸 Illegal immigrants in Ceuta, Spain kill a baby dolphin by striking it on the head. pic.twitter.com/zoSpePO9Q3
— BRICS News (@BRICSinfo) September 3, 2026
The incident occurred Wednesday at El Trampolín beach, where hundreds of migrants have been staying following the July border surge.
Video verified as having been recorded in Ceuta shows several men carrying a dolphin calf as others gather around them. Some people can be heard objecting to the treatment of the animal.
A local environmental organization, the Association for the Defense of Urban Trees, Biodiversity and the Environment, or DAUBMA, filed a complaint with Spain’s Civil Guard alleging that the dolphin reached shore alive and disoriented before being removed from the water and struck in the head with a stick. The group is asking authorities to identify those responsible and refer the case to prosecutors.
Other reporting has cautioned that the publicly available footage does not establish that the migrants killed the dolphin. In the video, some of the migrants can be heard saying the animal was already dead. Security officials are investigating the circumstances surrounding its death.
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Dolphins are protected under Spanish law, and intentionally killing protected wildlife can result in criminal penalties.
The episode has intensified tensions in Ceuta following an extraordinary migration surge from neighboring Morocco.
More than 72,000 migrants crossed into the small Spanish territory during the July crisis, according to Reuters. Thousands remained in Ceuta this week, prompting demonstrations demanding tougher border enforcement and deportations.
Thousands of residents took to the streets Wednesday to protest the Spanish government’s handling of the crisis. Some residents have also dismantled makeshift migrant shelters along the beaches.
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