One of the things which I find really frustrating is how much back biting goes on between refuges and associations, whether in Spain, Belgium, France…… At the end of the day, for me, it is about the dogs, who cares who is ‘president’ of which association, who runs what refuge so long as it complies with GEE. For goodness sake, it’s about the animals, not about people and politics….
I was in a car park in Spain and where a little puppy, probably about 5 months old, looked like a x poodle, was wandering around loose. I went to take it up when a couple of young Spanish restrained me. It was their puppy, they said. As I don’t speak Spanish, I was unable to answer them as I would have liked to. I dread to think of how it ended up…certainly not microchipped, vaccinated and in a loving family home….more likely in a shelter, if it hadn’t been killed by a lorry driving into the car park.
The Guardia Civil and their Environment arm SEPRONA should be enforcing the law, including those laws which protect animals. Here is another example where they prefer to ‘kill’ those who are trying to do something agout getting abandoned dogs off the streets.
A small refuge was this week visited by the Guardia Civil. The refuge had been accused of depriving their dogs of water and leaving them tied up in the blazing sun. Surely this is what happens to podencos owned by hunters and galgos belonging to gypsies?!
Of course, the accusations – source unknown but it is suspected to originate from another refuge in the area – were unfounded but now this small refuge, lurching as so many do from funding crisis to crisis, has been told that, unless they get a land zoological license – applicable to large refuges but not small ones – they will be closed down.
All in all the licence will cost this small refuge thousands of euros because they will have to extend the refuge. It needs special water buckets which are drip fed, isolation areas, puppy areas. It is far better run than some other refuges – see the piece about the Aviles Asturias shelter – and yet, though the refuge is taking abandoned and injured dogs off the streets, the municipal authorities and the Guardia Civil – who SHOULD be enforcing the law, choose to target them.
What the hell is happening in Spain? No wonder so many volunteers eventually give up in despair! And why do none of the International animal welfare associations take up the mantle? I’ve tried, excuses, excuses from them all.
HSI have said they might help if we have a project?
What do you think we can do?