ADVERTISING

UPDATE – 08/02/16

The Brigitte Bardot Foundation has just written an open letter to the King of Spain, the Spanish authorities, and the whole country, in a plea to put an end to this revolting 'tradition'. There is also an online petition, that you can sign here! We need all the help and support we can get if we want to make a change, so please share this.

* * *

Today, on the 1st of February, we commemorate World Galgo Day, in honour of the Spanish greyhounds who are used to hunt in Spain. Every year, this day symbolises the fight to end the terrible fate which awaits these greyhounds once the hunting season in Spain is over.

Source : @LévrierSansFrontières

Galgos are mainly used for hunting in Spain. Each year, they are bred in their thousands and forced to spend their days confined and neglected, crammed in cages and starved. They are trained to run as quickly as possible by being attached and dragged behind moving vehicles.

Source : @Viméo

"The Greyhound Holocaust"

But the worst awaits them when the hunting season is over, at the start of the month of February. If the dogs are too old to hunt, or the hunter thinks they're no longer "useful", or they simply don't want to pay to keep them alive for another year, these greyhounds are brutally killed.

Source : @VICE

Hung from trees, left to die of hunger or thirst in a tiny cage, thrown down wells or off cliffs, burned alive… The hunters use the most barbaric methods to rid themselves of these dogs whom they no longer need.

Source : @LévrierSansFrontières

Source : @LévrierSansFrontières

The luckiest ones are those that are abandoned, released from their chains and allowed to roam free in the wild.

Local charities estimate that every year over 50,000 dogs are affected by what they tragically call, "The Greyhound Holocaust".

Source : @LévrierSansFrontières

Excessive, uncontrolled breeding

The 190,000 Spanish hunters who authorise such brutal cruelty each year see these dogs as disposable objects. They are therefore excessively and uncontrollably bred, which is then followed by their mass abandonment.

For thousands of these suffering dogs, their life is worth absolutely nothing to their countrymen.

Source : @LévrierSansFrontières

The dogs who prove themselves to be the best at hunting are the ones who are kept alive only to serve as breeding machines for the next "batch" of hunting dogs for the following season.

Source : @LévrierSansFrontières

The incredible work of local charities

Luckily, there are numerous local charities who strive to help these poor dogs and draw attention to the horrific acts of animal cruelty that are going on in their country.

Source : @LévrierSansFrontières

The Baasgalgo Association for example, goes around the affected regions helping to save stray Galgos and offering them some love and care in local shelters.

Most of the dogs that they find are starving, injured, and in need of a lot of medical care. For if the dogs are freed, it's well-known that their legs are broken so that they won't be able to hunt or return to their hunters.

Source: @OffalyIndependent

Other countries all over the world are also helping Spain with this huge problem. The English charity, Greyhounds in Need, is dedicated to saving the lives of these dogs and helps to rehome many of them. They write on their website:

Since starting this work in 1991, we have rescued and found homes for several thousand dogs with the help of many Spanish volunteers, and the homing groups and individuals in Europe who are promoting adoption in their own countries. Galgos (Spanish-bred hunting greyhounds) make excellent family pets, and, contrary to popular opinion, their requirements for exercise are moderate and many live happily with cats.

Source : @VICE

Please share this information so that we can spread awareness about this atrocious cruelty and put an end to it for once and for all. The more people aware of it, the better our chances are at fighting it.

Featured image: @VICE

* * *