A disturbing video from Ceuta, Spain’s North African enclave, has sparked outrage after a group described as migrants was seen striking a young dolphin during a beachside celebration, with reports suggesting the animal may have died.
Footage shared widely on social media appears to show several men and boys raising what looked like a baby bottlenose dolphin above their heads as a crowd nearby cheered and celebrated.
According to local accounts, the dolphin had swum unusually close to the shoreline before members of the group allegedly dragged it from the water at El Trampolín beach.
The scene quickly angered residents in the area, some of whom reportedly confronted the group and attempted to intervene as the incident unfolded.
Video that appears to show migrants in Spain’s Ceuta enclave holding a dolphin that reportedly died after being beaten has prompted anger among local residents. (Getty Images)
One of the men reportedly struck the dolphin with a stick, mortally wounding it. Some people were heard shouting “no” in the video, and some men were cheering. Others appeared concerned at the treatment of the marine mammal.
Someone eventually took the mammal and placed it back in the water. The incident has sparked outrage among Ceuta residents.
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“On Wednesday, September 2, 2026, a disoriented dolphin calf swimming near the shore at Trampolin Beach, in Ceuta, was brutally pulled from the water,” Nadia Garcia Gomez wrote in a social media post announcing a petition to have those involved arrested.
“Eyewitnesses and local media reported that the animal was handled as if it were an object and violently struck on the head with a stick, causing its immediate death.”
Gomez called the migrants’ actions an act of “extreme and unjustifiable cruelty” that cannot go unpunished. She noted that dolphins are a protected species under Spanish and European laws.
Migrants from Morocco pour into Spain’s North African enclave Ceuta on July 30, 2026. (Reuters)
Other Ceuta residents have called for the migrants involved to be prosecuted and expelled from the country.
Ceuta has been gripped by an influx of migrants from neighboring Morocco. In July, more than 70,000 migrants stormed the tiny enclave’s border defenses. Although most of the migrants returned home shortly afterward, thousands have remained.
Some residents have called for deportations and tougher action from the central government in Madrid. Last week, angry locals tore down migrant tents and shelters at the beach.