Man who killed 79 piglets in belly flop video is jailed

A Spanish farm worker who shared a video of himself diving onto a pen of piglets, killing dozens, has been jailed for 15 months for aggravated animal abuse.

It is believed 19 piglets were crushed immediately and a further 60 were put down because of their injuries.

Police said the man, aged 19 at the time, dived into the pen three times.

The man, and a colleague who filmed the incident, were ordered to pay €60 (£54; $70) each per pig.

The fines - a total of €4,470 (£4000; $5300) each - were paid to the farm.

Both men were also banned from working with animals for three and a half years.

The pigs were aged between 19 and 27 days old and were being transferred to a weaning room when the incident took place in January 2016 in Huércal-Overa, Almería.

The video was shared widely on web messaging service Whatsapp.

Spanish police released graphic photographs of the crushed pigs.

"I had no intention of causing any injuries, I did not kill any animals, I was smaller, I was 19 years old and I jumped on the animals but they moved away," the defendant, known only by his initials DAA, said .

DAA said his colleague did not know what he was about to do when he asked him to film it.

The judge said the man treated the pigs like a trampoline or swimming pool when he jumped on them, local media reported .

DAA apologised to the farm, but labelled the incident "childish antics" and denied that any pigs died.