A Wildlife Article from All-Creatures.org

50,000 Spanish Galgos/Greyhounds are Killed Every Year

From Network for Animals
April 2023

Spanish greyhounds, called galgos, are widely bred for the country’s cruel hunting industry in which mountain goats, wild boar, mouflon sheep and red and fallow deer are killed to get meat for pet food. Thousands of them are abused every year. Often they are ‘used’ for a single season, then they are abandoned, starved to death, thrown down wells, beaten to death, used as shooting practice, poisoned, or hung from trees.

Spanish greyhounds, called galgos, are widely bred for the country’s cruel hunting industry in which mountain goats, wild boar, mouflon sheep and red and fallow deer are killed to get meat for pet food.

Here is what happens to the poor creatures unlucky enough to fall into the hands of hunters: first, before they are sent to hunt, they are starved to make them hungry enough to kill. Typically, they are kept chained in dirty, feces-riddled underground bunkers.

The dogs are judged “good” or “bad” hunters. Those who fall into the latter category are often tortured by their owners for the ‘shame’ they have brought on them. The reasoning is that by torturing and killing the dogs, they wash away the dishonor the dogs displayed that brought shame to their masters.

There is no legal protection for these poor creatures because they are regarded under Spanish law as working dogs and are excluded from laws relating to pets. Legally, they are no different from inanimate objects and can be used in whatever manner their owner decides.

It is cheaper for the owners to kill a dog than to feed it for four months until the next season. New dog costs as little as $11 (£9) from one of many breeding facilities that supply hunters.

The barbaric treatment of helpless dogs is an absolute disgrace, the dogs need help. This is our plan…

We have partnered with two organizations who operate dog shelters and provide care to hunting dogs - Foundation Jadoul and PACMA. These remarkable organizations work tirelessly to provide the best possible care to animals in need.

Their shelters, Galgos Del Sur in Cordoba and Foundation Jadoul in Valencia, are safe and caring sanctuaries where these beautiful creatures can find protection and love and, eventually, loving new homes.

Two dog shelters for abandoned galgos have shut down. We MUST do everything we can to keep the last two shelters open - the only havens left.

There are many cases of galgos being burned with acid, dragged behind cars, skinned or buried alive, or subjected to the sickeningly named “piano dance” where a dog is tied up by its neck and hung up, its feet barely touching the ground, until it is slowly and excruciatingly strangled to death.

If you would like to donate, visit Network for Animals.

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