Galgos Sin Fronteras – meet the President

Sandra Baas, of Baas Galgo, recently interviewed Cristina Garcia Moreno, President of Galgos Sin Fronteras, who has been involved in helping the galgos of Spain for more than 10 years.

This is her story.

My name is Cristina García Moreno. I am president of the association Galgos Sin Fronteras. For more than 10 years I have noticed the hell in which galgos live who were so unlucky to be born in Spain. I have seen the most terrible and unjust situations that one can imagine, against one of the most wonderful races, the galgo.

For the so called Galgueros (Spanish hunters) they are only a tool that can be used and dismissed, and not a living creature with heart and soul.

To hunt with galgos is legal in Spain. In the rest of the EU this type of hunting, where dogs are used as a weapon instead of a shotgun, is prohibited. This type of hunting results in the elimination of thousands of galgos every year by the galguerros

Not many people knew about this dog race. There is a false concept of them being nervous dogs that only want to run all day. In Spain nobody was even considering to adopt a galgo and each dog we were able to save every year, had to travel thousands of kilometers to have a happy future instead of a cruel death.

Thanks to associations in countries like Holland, Germany, France etc … thousands of galgos could have a worthy life.

But for approximately the last 5 years a miracle has started to happen, and the false concept of the nervous dogs, impossible to adopt and only suitable for supporting the galgueros, is being replaced by a more realistic idea about his character, and now hundreds of Spanish families already share their lives with one of these sweet dogs, away from the regions in Northern and Western Spain where there is the greatest concentration of hunting.

I think, too, now there is more discontent shown in our society every day, about the fact that nothing is done to spare the galgo its cruel destiny.

This gives great satisfaction to GALGOS SIN FRONTERAS, who have already placed some 90 % of our rescued galgos in our country.

But the great tragedy sadness remains about all the thousands of galgos that are not found and saved, in spite of so many people and associations that are trying to help.

Whoever can save over 50,000 galgos, dismissed every year????

Nevertheless the struggle goes on and already over 200.000 signatures were send to the ministry of environment and even to the European Parliament to appeal for a law to prohibit the hunt with galgos, the only solution to this annual tragedy.

As time goes by, I hope and pray there will be a day when this madness comes to an end, the uncontrolled breeding, the wretched life and the cruel death of thousands of galgos will eventually be something of the past, something we all should help to obtain.

GALGOS SIN FRONTERAS has rescued approximately a thousand galgos in 10 years of struggle. Almost all of them were frightened, beaten and hungry and hiding.The greatest satisfaction we can get is to see them after rescuing, sterilization, vaccination, micro-chipped, living happily ever after with their marvellous families.

Cristina García

President of Galgos sin Fronteras.

www.galgosinfronteras.org