Todays problems:

The galgos and also podencos in Spain live an insecure life, and for the absolute majority of them, a life in total squalor.  

This special dog is bred solely for sports (hunting/racing) and not for being pets, at all.

The sad and heartbreaking fact is that when these dogs are no longer of any use and so to speak ‘have served their purpose’, they are considered worthless.

Photo: Hunters arrive at a rescuer-centre with a ‘cattle-transport’ full of galgos loaded in 2 layers (60 dogs in each). Some with broken legs, broken tails and other injuries.

The galgo is used during the hunting-season from Oct.1 to Jan. 30

They start their career at the age of 12 months and it’s estimated that 50% of them will die before the age of 2 years.

According to the WSPA (World Society for Protection of Animals) tens of thousands of these kinds of dogs are bred and killed every year.

Most EU-citizens are not aware of the variety of ways these dogs are killed. They are killed in the most horrendous and cruel ways.

They are hanged, thrown into deep wells, poisoned, burned alive, dragged after cars, killed by clubs or left to an unknown fate of starvation and suffering.  

Not until recently have different organisations begun to work for improvement of the conditions for the dogs and animal-welfare.  

There are about 35-40 small shelters/animal-welfare organisations in Spain that corporate with different animal-welfare organisations in England , the Netherlands , Belgium , France , USA , Germany and Denmark .

Galgos

awaiting their faith in a shelter

The number of dogs that are killed in public hangings has been decreasing since 1997, but according to the local police, this is only due to the fact that different hunting-associations have gone ‘under-cover’.
It’s assumed that the growing interest in animal-welfare has played a part in the hunters‘ decision about the ‘under-cover-business’.

Dogs are increasingly left or given to country-shelters, that merely are ‘killing’ stations’.
Mutilated, sick, and wounded dogs are here awaiting their death for weeks without any medical help or anybody looking out for them at all.

Emaciated galgo is offered some food

Galgo with multible shot-wounds

Animal-welfare workers are working very hard to improve the conditions at the country-shelters as well as at the private ones, but there is a desperate lack of resources.  
The number of adoptions abroad is going up and according to the WSPA 2.500- 3.000 dogs get homes in other countries.
It sounds like a lot, but one should keep in mind, that this number I so much smaller than the 10% which constitutes being the waste product of these sports.

The Galgos tragic situation from the past to the present time
If one should have just a flicker of chance to understand the tragic situation of the galgos in Spain – one has to go back to the past …...click here

Documentation of the atrocities through pictures.
WARNING: Not for small children!

NEW PAGE April 19 2007 –. Stories from Spain