SITUATION IN SPAIN
The situation in Spain is due in part to the uncontrolled breeding of galgos and podencos and their massive abandonment at the end of the hunting season.
An investigation by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) in 2001 and 2002 proved that tens of thousands of Galgos are bred annually in Spain in the hope of producing the national coursing champion.
Medina del Campo, where Scooby is located, is the focal point for those with a coursing interest in Spain. Many galgueros (breeders and owners of Galgos) live in Medina del Campo and it’s surroundings
Prior to 2001 it was an annual tradition for the galgueros to kill their galgos by hanging them in the pine forests in and around Medina del Campo at the end of the coursing season. Fermín Pérez, Scooby’s President and WSPA captured vast photographic evidence and WSPA compiled a report about the treatment of Galgos in Spain.
Practically everybody in the country is allowed to breed galgos and podencos – the only requirement is to own a male and a female. There is no control whatsoever by any authority. Laws intended to govern this issue do exist, however, they are rarely enforced. Dogs are required to be micro chipped and registered but again, this is not always enforced. Those dogs who are micro chipped and then abandoned, often are found with micro chips having been cut out by the galguero.
Scooby continuously receives calls asking us to take over or rescue dogs. Normally they are two to three-year-old galgos, sometimes also older ones. Some of these unwanted galgos end up in an association like Scooby where they have at least the chance of a future, many others end up in the so-called “perreras” or “killing stations” where most of them are destroyed. The other even less fortunate dogs, get killed on the roads, are abandoned, shot to death and others are hanged – the hanging of the animals continues in Spain in spite of the many campaigns against the practice!
An investigation by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) in 2001 and 2002 proved that tens of thousands of Galgos are bred annually in Spain in the hope of producing the national coursing champion.
Medina del Campo, where Scooby is located, is the focal point for those with a coursing interest in Spain. Many galgueros (breeders and owners of Galgos) live in Medina del Campo and it’s surroundings
Prior to 2001 it was an annual tradition for the galgueros to kill their galgos by hanging them in the pine forests in and around Medina del Campo at the end of the coursing season. Fermín Pérez, Scooby’s President and WSPA captured vast photographic evidence and WSPA compiled a report about the treatment of Galgos in Spain.
Practically everybody in the country is allowed to breed galgos and podencos – the only requirement is to own a male and a female. There is no control whatsoever by any authority. Laws intended to govern this issue do exist, however, they are rarely enforced. Dogs are required to be micro chipped and registered but again, this is not always enforced. Those dogs who are micro chipped and then abandoned, often are found with micro chips having been cut out by the galguero.
Scooby continuously receives calls asking us to take over or rescue dogs. Normally they are two to three-year-old galgos, sometimes also older ones. Some of these unwanted galgos end up in an association like Scooby where they have at least the chance of a future, many others end up in the so-called “perreras” or “killing stations” where most of them are destroyed. The other even less fortunate dogs, get killed on the roads, are abandoned, shot to death and others are hanged – the hanging of the animals continues in Spain in spite of the many campaigns against the practice!
This statue of a galguero and his galgos chasing a hare is located in central Medina.
