Spain is associated with a cortege and controversy regarding the brutal treatment of bulls. These are not the only animals for which this European country is a place of execution. Galgo Español is a Spanish chart. Once these dogs were adored by nobles, they are tortured or murdered today when the owner finds them unfit. Over 50,000 Galgos are killed in a year. Protesters call this a “Dog Holocaust”.
10 euros – you can buy Galgo for that much. Probably that’s why they are treated like objects. When they become less useful when hunting or are too expensive to maintain they are mutilated or murdered. It is estimated that every year, 50,000 to even 100,000 of these animals are treated in this way. More and more often, mass graves of Galgo dogs are found in Spain.
Who is the murderer?
Greyhounds are used for hunting usually only for one season and then discarded and replaced with new ones. In the hunting season, which lasts from November to February, hunters buy about 10 galgos. If they are bad hunters, they are ritually tortured as punishment. Hunters explain their cruelty by saying that dogs are embarrassing their master.
Dogs are poured with acid, dragged behind the car, skinned, buried alive, thrown into deep wells, canyons. Sometimes hunters make them do “piano dance.” The dog is attached to the neck so that it almost hangs in the air. It fights for every breath and slowly suffocates. It may take up to three days.
Torutry are so cruel that you could write a horror story based on them. Dogs are poured with acid, dragged behind the car, skinned, buried alive, thrown into deep wells, canyons. Sometimes hunters make them do “piano dance.” The dog is attached to the neck so that it almost hangs in the air. It fights for every breath and slowly suffocates. It may take up to three days.
Why no one reacts?
Some people, along with several organizations, are fighting for the rights of these animals. Something is slowly changing … but much too slowly, and the lack of appropriate law and ignorance on the part of politicians is an obstacle. The problem is that the authorities in Spain are well aware of this unpleasant phenomenon …. and they do nothing.
The regulations in force are written so that Galgueros (hunters) avoid punishment for their sadism. Many hunters are people from high society, members of political elites or their “friends”. Besides, a few years ago, the king of Spain traveled to Africa and organized elephant hunting.
Hope
The hope for Galgos is to change the perception of ordinary people. More and more people buy or adopt them and keep them at home as pets. Having Galgos becomes even fashionable (especially in the north of Spain). The more Spanish people love them, the more they will oppose cruel treatment. In addition, the case is getting more and more known in the world, thanks to the press. The National Geographic and The Guardian have already written about the Holocaust of Dogs. A large part of the Spanish economy is based on tourism, so if we tourists are opposed, the Spanish authorities will have to do something about it.
