WORLD WORLDWIDE EUROPE SPAIN - ANIMALS - Network for Animals - The dark secret Spain doesn't want you to know about.

 

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Share Tweet Thousands of discarded Spanish hunting dogs are brutally killed every year. Please donate now

Dear friends, Hunting dogs in Spain have a truly hellish existence. Bred to be ruthless killing machines, they experience relentless torture and abuse, their lives cut tragically short when they are no longer ‘useful’ to the hunters. Credit: Galgos Del Sur With you on our side, we can save them from endless suffering and agonizing deaths. Read on to find out how you can help… Every year, hunters drive their dogs to tear millions of animals apart, stuck in a perpetual cycle of death and destruction. Spain was once home to a diverse array of wildlife, but that natural wildlife has been almost entirely wiped out. In its place are cramped breeding farms and puppy mills, churning out dogs for hunting and small critters for the hunters and dogs to kill.  This dirty green water was all that up to 30 hunting dogs have to drink. Credit: Galgos Del Sur Hunting is big business in Spain, with around 87% of the nation designated as hunting territory. Game farms exist with the sole purpose of supplying animals such as partridges for hunters to kill.  But as horrific as these game farms are, they are paradise compared to the puppy mills that breed hunting dogs, also known as galgos and podencos. Please donate now Starving dogs die from neglect and abuse, or are deliberately killed by ruthless breeders and hunters.  If you had seen the horrors we have witnessed, we know that you would do ANYTHING to stop the suffering. Credit: Galgos Del Sur Due to lax laws, the conditions these dogs face are often deplorable, with creatures living in their own feces, on short chains in the baking heat. The dogs are deliberately kept as hungry as possible to encourage aggression and violence, often given nothing but disgusting green water to drink and fed so little that they die of starvation.  In some of the worst cases, dead dogs are cannibalized by their ravenous fellow inmates. Dogs that are seen as not being aggressive enough for the season’s hunt are ruthlessly killed, discarded in the suffocating heat with no water or shade, or used as breeding machines.  On a recent summer rescue mission, we found dogs that were so desperate to escape the brutal sun that they had dug holes in a desperate attempt to find relief. Tragically, many of them succumbed to the heat. The sight of their suffering is something we will never forget, and it drives us to fight even harder to save these exploited dogs.   Credit:  Galgos Del Sur Each season, thousands of hunting dogs are thrown off bridges, hung, or discarded in the most brutal ways. The hunting season is due to start again in September, and the cycle of horror and abuse continues.  Every year, as many as half a million Spanish greyhounds and podencos are bred for the hunting industry, fed into a churning machine of hunting competitions, tours and events – a parade of death for human entertainment.  Please donate now Hunting in Spain is advertised as an idyllic, traditional pastime – but the dark underbelly of violence that fuels the industry is something the hunting lobby desperately wants to hide. Spain is one of only eight countries in the world that still allows this kind of barbaric hunting with dogs as a recreational sport. The partridge farms that feed the sport are also a shocking scene of suffering – with up to half a million birds in one facility alone used to lure hunters to “scenic” hunting trips in Spain, where they will be torn apart by the starved dogs for human amusement. Credit: Galgos Del Sur It is no surprise that the hunting lobby wants to keep this shameful secret hidden from the public.  Join us on our mission to save these precious dogs from some of the most widespread abuse we’ve ever seen! We and our partners expose and challenge this cruelty through public campaigns and lobbying. Because of our efforts, public opinion is starting to change. As they work to save animal lives, my team faces harassment, death threats and assault. But this will not stop us from fighting for these dogs – who are shockingly excluded from animal welfare laws in Spain. With 500,000 dogs bred every year, the amount of animals in desperate need is constantly growing. Our partners rescued nearly 1,800 dogs from horrific suffering in 2023 alone, and their shelters are constantly at capacity. Adoptions have dropped since the end of COVID, and our teams need your support now more than ever to continue their vital work.  Credit: NFA/Dejan Radic We are preparing a hunting dog rescue mission to save abused dogs. Please donate now We must organize logistics to provide rescued dogs with the medical treatments they need, and to ensure the necessary legal actions such as police investigations and prosecutions take place.  Here’s how your donations will help us save lives:  $5 (£3.90) will feed a rescued dog for a day $15 (£11.70) will transport a dog from a cruel breeding facility to a sanctuary $50 (£39) will provide a dog with crucial medication and vaccinations Please donate generously today. For the animals, Gloria Davies (and Max and Flora!) CEO and Founder Network for Animals P.S. The hunting industry is highly influential in Spain – we have to stand up for the dogs, and we hope you will donate today to show your support. Banner credit: World Animals Voice Click here to leave a legacy in Brian's memory. Subscribe to our newsletter!