I have today received a reply to my letter of 18 November to the European Commission in respect of the welfare of dogs in Spain.
‘Dear Madam
Thank you for your letter of 18 November 2009 concerning the welfare of dogs in Spain. Comissioner Vassiliou has asked me to reply on her behalf.
The situation you are describing in your letter raises serious concerns for the welfare of those greyhound racing dogs which are neglected or killed at the end of their working season. You also write that there are pet dogs which are abandoned by teporary residents of Spain at the time of their return to their home countries.
As you know, the European Commission attaches great importance to animal welfare. Animals are recognised as sentient beings by the Protocol on Animal Welfare annexed to the EC Treaty and the European institutions are obliged to pay full regard to the welfare requirements of animals when formulating and implementing Community legislation. At the same time, however, the European institutions must stay within the competences conferred on them by the EC Treaty. Their power to legislate in improving the welfare of animals extends only to the policy areas covered by the EC Treat, such as agriculture.
Accordingly, although a considerable body of Community legislation for the protection of farm animals has been adopted, the Community legislator has no power to act in order to protect dogs, as this is not a policy area covered by the Treaty. Therefore the European Institutions have no competence to act in this field and this issue remains solely under the responsibility of the Member States.
Nonetheless the Commission is aware of the concerns of NGOs and European citizens regarding dogs and is following with interest any progress. In this regard the Commission has actively supported the work performed by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) to develop specific guidelines for the control of stray dog populations which were adopted by the 175 OIE Member Countries, Spain included, at the last OIE General Session in May 2009.
The OIE guidelines on stray dog population control are based on the main principle that the promotion of responsible dog ownership can significantly reduce the number of stray animals. Such guidelines outline objectives, evaluations and possible control measures to be implemented in combination according to the national and local context, as well as to the socio-economic situation of 175 OIE Member countries around the world.
Yours sincerely Philip Tod
http://www.oie.int/eng/normes/mcode/en_chapitre_1.7.7.htm
I’m interested in how many of you received similar replies in response to your letters in the campaign run by Joan Barratt. I have a couple of comments.
1. Paragraph 2 refers to ‘greyhound racing dogs’ – they seem to have missed the point that it is hunting galgos and other hunting dogs which are the main dogs in question.
2. I have been researching the EU laws on animal welfare recently and they are only applicable to farm animals, animals used in laboratories for experiment, dealings in dog and cat fur………and they specifically exclude animals used in circuses, fiestas, for ‘traditions’ – that’s how Spain still gets away with so much animal cruelty.
I will be taking a close study of the OIE link.
Comments
4 responses to “European Commission – the Cabinet replies to the stray’ dog problem”
DISGUSTING.
SICKENING
BARBARIC
THIS NEEDS TO CHANGE NOW
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Hi
Yes, they arent really doing anything about the
plight of the galgos, bull fighting, donkey fiestas, nor the stray dog problem
throughout Europe.
So can you write to Mr Tod, his email address is
here, and get as many of your family and friends to do the same. Write a
polite letter but demand they do more than watch and actually set in motion a
law to FORCE countries to take action on control of breeding of dogs and cats,
and registration of the animals, and prosecution of owners who maltreat and
abandon their dogs, especially at the end of the hunting season.
The more letters they receive, the more chance we
have of making a difference.
Thanks for reading Galgo News and
commenting.
Beryl
Dear Beryl,
Here is a letter is just sent to Mr Tod and I included some photos:
Dear Mr Tod,
I am writing to you to express my concerns about the Galgos which are used as hunting dogs in Spain. As you may know upwards of 50,000 of these beautiful dogs are abandoned and killed every year by the very people who are supposed to be taking care of them. They are killed is such horrific ways such as hanging, being burned alive, being thrown down wells, being beaten to death, the list goes on.
The images that are included in this letter are Not isolated incidents—multiply them by 50,000.
The time is long overdue to impart laws that will give protection to these dogs. As of now they have none. It is long overdue to set in motion a law to FORCE countries to take action on control of breeding of dogs and cats, and registration of the animals, and prosecution of owners who maltreat and abandon their dogs, especially at the end of the hunting season.
Have there been no laws made because hunting is a tradition in Spain? This view is archaic and barbaric. I don’t need to tell you that day by day thanks to the Internet and other widely available media sources, word is getting out about how hunters in Spain treat their dogs, and thus putting a black mark on Spain as a tourist destination. It is difficult to think of Spain as a modern country while the torture and slaughter of thousands of the earth’s most gentle and loyal dogs is taking place—this is more like Third World country mentality! Word has gotten out about how these dogs are treated—there is no turning back!
May I ask you to think for a moment what these Galgos endure. May I ask you why they must endure this hell on earth? Surely you would agree that no living creature should be treated is such a way.
Please don’t turn a blind eye to this situation. Please ensure that some laws will be passed that will give protection to Galgos— they deserve it.
Thank you so much,
Valarie Wolf
California
USA
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Bonjour Valarie
Thank you for your marvellous message and
letter. I have to day been trying to sort out laptop, horses and donkeys
in the snow – the donkeys were abandoned on us last year, it has gone to Court,
but still the owner wont give us ownership to save them. So no time to
compose a reply.
So, will cut and paste yours onto Galgo News for
other to use.
Thanks a million for your help, really
appreciated.
Beryl