Hounding Misery { 72 images } Created 3 Jul 2012
HOUNDING MISERY
The Misfortune of Being a Spanish Greyhound
Text and Photos by Nano Calvo
Contrary to what one would expect, considering these animals’ elegance, noble character and exemplary behavior, for some unfortunate reason, being a greyhound in Spain is nowadays an insurmountable obstacle on the road to happiness.
Through one of life’s coincidences, my steps have taken me to sharing living space with a special being that shows, in his every move, the consequences of what has been an obviously prolonged case of overall mistreatment. His present and recently-given name is Gitano (Gypsy in Spanish), while his original name, just like so many other details that make up his truth, is unknown.
After witnessing first-hand the suffering of my new greyhound friend, Gitano, caused by lax common sense and the lack of rationality of his previous owners, the issue becomes personal – I decide to invest part of my time in developing a complete report about the world of greyhounds in our country, Spain.
Due to lax enforcement of animal cruelty laws in Spain, thousands of Spanish greyhounds, also known as galgos, are abandoned, tortured or killed by their owners every year at the end of each hare hunting season.
Campaigners estimate that 50,000 greyhounds are killed by their owners in Spain each year, after they grow too old, or turn out to be too slow to hunt with. Hanging is just one of the methods used. Dogs have been found thrown into wells, burnt alive and even injected with bleach. Spain's reputation for cruelty to animals led the government to introduce a law banning mistreatment of pets. Ministry officials showed their support but, under Spain's system of devolved powers, it is regional governments and town halls that must enforce the law.
According to Galgueros - Spanish term for greyhound owners -, this numbers are exaggerated and the mentioned practices are no longer active. They blame the frequent dog thefts for this, and assure that campaigners inflate the facts for their own interest.
In order to get a wider view of the issue, and try to find a positive solution, the story took me to varied places - the National Hare Coursing Finals, the house of an honest greyhound owner and Las Nieves, one of the biggest dog shelters in our country, accommodating more than 400 greyhounds, among other places -, getting to the final conclusion that not only greyhounds, but other hunting dogs, and other breeds, were victim of a wrong concept of the value and rights of this animals and a negligent behavior by part of our society.
The Misfortune of Being a Spanish Greyhound
Text and Photos by Nano Calvo
Contrary to what one would expect, considering these animals’ elegance, noble character and exemplary behavior, for some unfortunate reason, being a greyhound in Spain is nowadays an insurmountable obstacle on the road to happiness.
Through one of life’s coincidences, my steps have taken me to sharing living space with a special being that shows, in his every move, the consequences of what has been an obviously prolonged case of overall mistreatment. His present and recently-given name is Gitano (Gypsy in Spanish), while his original name, just like so many other details that make up his truth, is unknown.
After witnessing first-hand the suffering of my new greyhound friend, Gitano, caused by lax common sense and the lack of rationality of his previous owners, the issue becomes personal – I decide to invest part of my time in developing a complete report about the world of greyhounds in our country, Spain.
Due to lax enforcement of animal cruelty laws in Spain, thousands of Spanish greyhounds, also known as galgos, are abandoned, tortured or killed by their owners every year at the end of each hare hunting season.
Campaigners estimate that 50,000 greyhounds are killed by their owners in Spain each year, after they grow too old, or turn out to be too slow to hunt with. Hanging is just one of the methods used. Dogs have been found thrown into wells, burnt alive and even injected with bleach. Spain's reputation for cruelty to animals led the government to introduce a law banning mistreatment of pets. Ministry officials showed their support but, under Spain's system of devolved powers, it is regional governments and town halls that must enforce the law.
According to Galgueros - Spanish term for greyhound owners -, this numbers are exaggerated and the mentioned practices are no longer active. They blame the frequent dog thefts for this, and assure that campaigners inflate the facts for their own interest.
In order to get a wider view of the issue, and try to find a positive solution, the story took me to varied places - the National Hare Coursing Finals, the house of an honest greyhound owner and Las Nieves, one of the biggest dog shelters in our country, accommodating more than 400 greyhounds, among other places -, getting to the final conclusion that not only greyhounds, but other hunting dogs, and other breeds, were victim of a wrong concept of the value and rights of this animals and a negligent behavior by part of our society.
