I can’t keep up with it all on Galgo News, just too much to post; galgos and podencos abandoned throughout winter, refuges full to bursting, embalming galgos rears its ugly head again – more in another post – and now galgueros dumping their dogs at the refuges and shelters. Yet more galgos dumped in the perreras, and now cutting microchips out of the dogs before dumping. How do the volunteers cope?
Now I’ll tell you about a man who could make a change but hasn’t.
This man is now elderly. He is a galguero. He is Mayor of his area, on the outskirts of a major city in Andalucia. He breeds galgos and sells them to hunters. He is Vice President of one of the major galgo hunting federations in Spain. In 1996 he proclaimed in public an ‘Apology to the Galgo’, which is published on a rescue association website. He has at least one son and probably grandchildren, to whom he sets an example? Of what?
The knowledge with which I cannot come to terms is that this man also owns the land and buildings on which there is a ‘shelter’; last year at the end of hunting over 90 galgos were dumped there by his galguero compatriots because, I am told, he has persuaded them not to hang their dogs at the end of hunting. Yippee!!
So now the dogs are taken to the shelter where these men relinquish their responsibility for their dogs and pass it on to the rescue association and its volunteers to sort out and rehome these dogs. I took this photo inside the shelter.
There are those who tell me this is a good man – what do you think?
And what of the position in which the rescue association finds itself. They cannot abandon these dogs, but to continue to run the shelter and help these dogs surely compounds the situation. And still this man apparently does not take steps to curtail the breeding and abandonment of the galgos in the area.
Comments
3 responses to “End of hunting season in Spain – galgueros dump their dogs en masse!!”
This hunting federation called El Club Nacional del Galgo Espanol (www.galgoes.com) in Villa del Rio (Cordoba) has some 4000 members which together own probably at least 8000 galgos, maybe more. So when only 90 galgos are brought to his shelter, where was the rest dumped? Yes, probably in the perreras to be euthanised or abandoned in the fields or shot. But dead or left to the responsibility and costs of other people who saved them. If you then continue breeding galgos I don´t think you´re an example of being a good person for the galgos, at least I think the galgos disagree. And leaving the adoptions to a rescue association just takes a lot of work from their shoulders and they only want to get rid of the dogs. I agree that these dogs should be adopted and these galgueros should pay for this themselves, not us, but this rescue association is collecting a lot of goods and money for this shelter and that is not done, we should fight these hunting federations, not collaborate with them!! And let the money go to the shelters who want to help the galgos because they deserve a better life and not because they are not good for hunting !!!
Hi Cobie
Thanks for commenting, I know you are well versed with this place. And it comforts me to know you agree with my feelings……..I simply cant reconcile myself to this situation, however much at the end of the day, the dogs which are alive need all the help they can get after dumping at the shelter. Do you know if the current Environment minister is interested in helping in any way?
Thanks for all you do, how many galgos have you at Scooby now?!
Beryl
Hi Berryl,
I am so glad that you think the same as Coby and me and a lot more people! Of course it is a good thing to adopt these wonderful creatures. But i can’t live with the fact that this is a hunting federation….
Mieke