100,000 demand an end to the suffering of Spanish greyhounds used for hunting
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Spanish greyhounds – or galgos – face abandonment and inhumane killing at the end of each hunting season. Recently 100,000 people signed our petition to ban this horrific blood sport for good
World Animal Protection Netherlands, alongside online animal welfare community AnimalsToday.nl, presented a petition to ban hunting with galgos with more than 100,000 signatures to the Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sport this May. It was the largest petition ever urging this ‘sport’ be banned.
The brutal end to galgos’ hard life
In Spain, galgos are used for hunting for their speed and endurance.
Their suffering begins with gruelling training. In one of the cruellest methods, several dogs at a time may be tied behind a moving car and forced to run behind it. Those dogs deemed too slow are dumped.
When the hunting season ends in January, many galgos become redundant to the hunters – especially if they have not performed as well as was hoped. Some hunters simply refuse to feed and take care of their dogs until the next season. Thousands of galgos are abandoned each year. If they are lucky they may be left in shelters, though many are dumped in the woods or the side of the road. Some poor dogs are found with their legs broken, preventing them from finding their way home.
But for many, there is no chance at all at a life beyond hunting. Thousands more galgos are brutally killed – they are taken to killing stations, thrown in wells or hung in trees.
Every year, around 50,000 Spanish greyhounds are dumped or killed after hunting.
We can stop the cruelty
In May PACMA, the Spanish animal rights party, presented a bill in the Spanish parliament to ban hunting with galgos.
We hope the signatures of 100,000 people who support an end to the practice will exert even more pressure – especially as Spanish political parties take public pressure from other EU nations very seriously. Within Spain, opposition to hunting with galgos is also building.
Hopefully this blood sport will soon be a thing of the past.
You can help end the inhumane killing of dogs around the world and create a world where dogs and people live safely and happily side by side.
We hope the signatures of 100,000 people who support an end to hunting with galgos will add to the pressure on the Spanish government to ban the ‘sport’.