****URGENT AND IMPORTANT****
Please help the galgos and all hunting dogs
We are hearing from the shelters in Spain that an amendment (14303) which will exclude all hunting dogs from the Animal Protection, Rights and Welfare Bill (exp.no. 121/000117) in Spain is currently being proposed. This Spanish government-backed amendment will either be withdrawn or accepted next month (November 2022).
Demonstrations, “MISMOS PERROS MISMA LEY” – “SAME DOGS SAME LAW” have been taking place in Spain and the USA over recent weeks demanding the inclusion of hunting dogs in the new Welfare Bill.
We cannot allow this amendment to be passed and every effort to stop it is being made by Spanish animal protection groups, celebrities, rescue organisations, animal lovers and supporters and they are asking for international support as well.
The shelters we work with have taken part in the demonstrations and Anna, the Director of SOS Galgos in Barcelona, has asked for international support by sending us a sample letter (below) to be emailed to emb.londres@maec.es for the attention of the Spanish Ambassador to the UK and Northern Ireland.
Please share far and wide and thank you for your support for the galgos and hunting dogs.
#MismosPerrosMismaLey
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(Sample Letter)
To His Excellency Don Jose Pascual Marco Martinez
I strongly reject the amendment (14303) excluding hunting dogs from the generic protection of the Animal Protection, Rights and Welfare Bill (exp. no. 121/000117) supported by the political group currently in power in Spain.
I demand that:
The absolute REJECTION of any part that the said amendment. Not only does it open the door to continued abuse of these animals, it is also an affront to those of us who dedicate our lives, time and resources to fighting against the abandonment and abuse of animals In Spain. It is especially offensive to those organisations whose express aim is to rescue and find adoptive homes for abandoned and mistreated hunting dogs.
The INCLUSION of hunting dogs within the scope of the new Law, thereby affording them the protection they so direly need. Our country leads Europe in the abandonment and mistreatment of animals. From 2013 to 2016, according to official data from the Guardia Civil, 40% of dogs that suffer abuse are hunting dogs. We are dealing with a real and verified problem that is a scourge upon the reputation of Spain in the civilised world.
I do not understand how the new Law, now before the Spanish Congress, can be vaunted as advancing the legal protection of animals when the most abused would still suffer and are denied such protection. To do that would be promoting their invisibility, affirming their lack of welfare rights, and making them into ghost dogs that live in cages, endure harsh and rough training to provide for casual enjoyment or to become victims of senseless violence. Never was there a more justified case for equality under the law!
As further evidence of the plight of these dogs, I cite the disproportionate cases of mistreatment among the hunting community and the rest of the population. While hunting licenses are pegged to 1.5% of the population, cases of mistreatment and abandonment are some 26 times that of the population at large. I therefore find unacceptable any law that discriminates against any dog, knowing that they are all sentient beings of the same breed as domestic pets. How many greyhounds have to have their hung bodies displayed in the news or on online? How many have to be raised without control and have to be sold on web pages like objects?
For these reasons I DEMAND that the said amendment be withdrawn, eliminating completely part (e) pertaining to the inclusion of point 3, article 1 of the law of protection, rights and welfare of animals, and the creation of a law that assures the physical and emotional well-being of animals, consistent with the claim of Spanish society to take its rightful place amongst those reflecting the values of the European community.
Yours faithfully