Campaign – please write to the Spanish galgo hunting federations

Regular readers will remember that in March 2013 I published my ‘Letter to the Galgueros’. After the news of Fermin and the meetings with the FEG, I sent him a copy of my letter. He will be publishing it on the Scooby website and will also be forwarding it to his galguero contacts.

So I thought now would be a good time for us all to send a copy of the letter to the galgueros, since the mass abandonment and dumping in perreras is worse than ever and has not let up in the past 18 months. Figures now are certainly 120,000 galgos ‘disposed of’

So please copy and paste the letter below and send it to the FEG. I’ve altered the first couple of paragraphs so it is suitable to be sent by you. (here’s a link to all the hunting association addresses, if you would like to send out more than one copy)

Federacion Espanola de Galgos (FEG)
C/ Barquillo, 38 1º
28004 Madrid
Espagna

Senor

Me desperté enojado esta mañana y eres culpable – gitano y galguero Español.

Vamos a tomar en cuenta sólo lo que los efectos de largo alcance de la actitud egoísta, desconsiderado y, sí, arrogante del cazador español y gitano que tiene fuera de su propio mundillo insular.

Le hecho la culpa firmemente a elgalguero español y a los gitanos.
Después de descubrir la difícil situación del galgo y del podenco, la mayor parte de mi escritura es dada a escribir sobre ellos, como son la mayor parte de mis horas de vigilia¡Ellos se han apoderado de mi vida!

Soy una de miles de personas, la mayoría de ellos viven en España o son miembros de una asociación de rescate y realojamiento en toda Europa y en los EE.UU..

Como su vida impacta en muchas más vidas.

1 Los perros – eso es obvio. Tratados como una herramienta insensible para ser alimentado cuando se siente inclinado, abandonándolo cuando ya no lo quiere.

2 Cría incontrolada de galgos y podencos por el cazador y gitano.

3 Abandono masivo de cachorros no deseados y perros cada año – usted habrá visto mi último cálculo – más de 100.000 este año.

4 Los perros son un peligro en la carretera – provocando accidentes. El conductor y los pasajeros son a menudo angustiados enormemente por golpear y herir a un perro en el camino. (¡Estoy siendo generosa aquí, ya que algunos no lo estarán!)

5 Los perros propios, lesión, enfermedad, miedo – que sufren física y mentalmente, a veces de por vida.

6 Los voluntarios que rescatan a los perros – las miles de personas en España que no pueden hacer la vista gorda ante a un lesionado, hambriento, galgo enfermo o podenco en las calles – merodeando alrededor de un pueblo, restaurante, incluso este año en el metro de Madrid ¡Sí, algún bastardo crió ese galgo y luego se deshizo de él!¿Cuántas personas fueron afectadas por ver al pobre perro corriendo aterrorizada por las vías hasta que fue golpeado y herido. ¿Qué pasa con las mujeres que quisieron rescatarlo y que finalmente se jugaron la vida para hacerlo?.

7 Los voluntarios suelen tener empleos, esposos/as, parejas, hijos… salvar a los perros asume el control de la vida de los voluntarios a veces hasta el punto de que la relación se rompe, las familias se parten. La tensión emocional y física de ellos es incalculable y puede llegar a un inmenso coste, económica, física y mentalmente.

8. ¿Qué pasa con los veterinarios? Veterinarios españoles suelen cobrar menor para volver a juntar un perro rescatado, y sus honorarios son mucho menos que un veterinario francés y ciertamente mucho menos que una británica! Sin embargo, en general, se requiere que el veterinario local español lleve a cabo una cirugía extremadamente complicada.

9. Los siguientes en la lista son las asociaciones de rescate, que viajan a refugios en España para rescatar perros y realojarlos. Los voluntarios en su mayoría, que renuncian a su tiempo en muchos aspectos – recaudando fondos para los refugios, recogiendo los bienes donados, la búsqueda de casas de acogida y de adoptantes. Esto tiene un impacto en sus vidas también.

10. Y ¿qué pasa con las personas que adoptan a los perros. Se podría pensar que la culpabilidad del galguero español y gitano termina allí. Pero no lo hace. Debido a la falta de control sobre la cría de galgos y podencos en España y la mala alimentación de perras gestantes y lactantes, sus crías sufren a menudo. Pueden desarrollar problemas físicos y de salud durante el curso de sus vidas lo que repercute en los adoptantes y sus veterinarios, ya que trabajan para diagnosticar el problema y ayudar al perro a recuperarse.

11. Finalmente llegamos al punto de partida – el perro sufre todavía….
Así, Señor galguero, usted tiene una gran cantidad de sangre en las manos y una gran cantidad de personas para responder a como resultado de su irreflexiva despreocupada, actitud egoísta y arrogante. Porque, sí, es arrogante de su parte esperar a que tanta gente recoja los pedazos de sus acciones, un ser sensible que descartas como una colilla.

¡Qué vergüenza!

Name
Country

Here is the English version.

Senor

I woke up ANGRY this morning. And it’s YOUR fault.

After discovering the plight of the galgo and podenco many years ago, much of my waking hours are now occupied with writing about them and trying to help as many as I can in a multitude different ways. Because, unlike YOU, I am not selfish, thoughtless, uncaring, arrogant.

Because of YOU Spanish hunter and gitano, galgos and podencos have taken over my life! And I’m one of thousands of other people who suffer similarly, a large majority of whom live in Spain or are members of rescue and rehoming associations around Europe and in the US.

I place the blame firmly on YOU – the Spanish galgueros and gitanos. On every single one of you from the intelligent, educated, affluent, influential ones in government – politicians, judges, policemen – down to the old peasant out on the campo. Every one of you is to blame. Even the minority of you who do care about your galgos, because you do nothing to stop the annual mass abandonment and massacre of galgos and podencos.
And don’t tell me not to interfere and criticize you and Spain. Because what you do or do not do impacts on MY life and that of tens of thousands of people around the world!

Let’s consider just what far-reaching effects the selfish, thoughtless and, yes, arrogant attitude of the majority of you Spanish hunters and gitanos has outside of your own insular world. How YOUR actions or lack of action impacts on so many more lives.

1. The dogs – that’s obvious. Treated as an unfeeling tool to be fed when you the hunter feels inclined, discarded when you no longer want it.

2. Uncontrolled breeding of galgos and podencos by you the hunter and gitano.

3. Mass abandonment of unwanted puppies and dogs every year – my latest calculation is over 120,000 this year.

4. The dogs are a danger on the road, causing accidents. The driver and any passengers are often greatly distressed by hitting and injuring a dog on the road. (I’m being generous here, as some won’t be!)

5. The dogs themselves, they experience pain from injury, sickness, fear – they suffer physically and mentally, sometimes for life.

6. Volunteers who rescue the dogs – the thousands in Spain who cannot turn a blind eye to an injured, starving, sick galgo or podenco on the streets – hanging around a village, restaurant, even this year on the Madrid Metro! Yes, one of you hunters or gitanos bred that galgo and then got rid of it! How many people were affected by seeing the poor hound running terrified along the tracks till it was hit and injured and left to die. What about the ladies to wanted to rescue it, were prevented by the authorities from so doing, and who eventually risked their lives to pick up the pieces? This nightmare scenario will stay in their minds for ever
.
7. Volunteers usually have jobs, husbands, partners, children…saving the dogs takes over the life of the volunteer sometimes to such an extent that the relationship breaks down, families part. The emotional and physical strain on them is incalculable and can come at immense cost, financially, physically and mentally. YOU galgueros and gitanos are responsible for all this!

8. What about the vets? Spanish vets usually charge less for putting back together a rescued dog, and their fees are normally much less than a French vet and certainly far less than a British one! Yet generally the local Spanish vet is required to undertake extremely complicated surgery. It’s a physical strain on them too – them and their staff.

9. Next on the list – the members of the rescue associations, who travel to refuges in Spain to rescue dogs and rehome your abandoned and unwanted galgos and podencos. Volunteers again mostly, who give up their time in many ways – fundraising for the shelters, collecting donated goods, finding foster and adopting homes. This impacts on their lives too.

10. And what about the people who adopt the dogs. You might think the culpability of YOU Spanish galguero and YOU gitano ends there. But it does not. Because of the lack of control over breeding of galgos and podencos in Spain and the poor feeding of pregnant and nursing bitches, their pups often suffer. They may develop physical and health problems during the course of their lives which impacts on the adoptants and their vets as they work to diagnose the problem and aid the dog’s recovery.

11. And what about the dogs who do not get adopted, because people adopt a galgo? What about the thousands of English and Irish greyhounds still waiting for homes because people have adopted a galgo. And yes, I’d include putting blame here on breeders of greyhounds too and class many of them in a similar category to YOU, Spanish hunter and Gitano – they just don’t breed as many dogs as you produce in Spain!

12. Finally we arrive full circle – the dog suffers still….

So, Senor Galguero, YOU have all this blood on your hands and a lot of people to answer to as a result of your selfish, thoughtless, uncaring, arrogant attitude. Because, yes, it is arrogant of you to expect so many people to pick up the pieces of your actions against a sentient being which you carelessly discard like a cigarette butt.

SHAME ON ALL OF YOU and the shame you bring to Spain!