An appeal popped into my Inbox this week, which I wish to share with you, in the hope that you will all write to your local MEP, as requested. You will find a link at the end of the post which will connect you to a website on which you will be able to find the contact details of your MEP. Please cross post where possible.
Herewith the letter, either post or email
Dear Sir or Madam,
I want to bring to your attention a very sad situation in your country which is of great concern to me and to many of my Spanish friends. This involves considerable cruelty to animals and in particular to dogs. Although there are laws to prevent such cruelty they are rarely, if ever enforced and there is a rather large gap in the law that regards greyhound racing dogs as “working dogs” which are therefore not covered by the law. After the rabbit-hunting season is over they either get thrown out, dumped on the motorway or are hanged.
This is a deplorable state of affaires and a very poor advertisement for Spain, and also by the volunteers who work tirelessly to try and save these dogs from further pain and suffering.
Unfortunately there is another source of cruelty to dogs involving the many expatriates who are temporary residents. Some of these people dump dogs when they return to their home countries or leave them outside animal sanctuaries. There should be serious penalties for such offences and they should be enforced. There is a great deal of anger about this situation both among my Spanish friends and the many expats who, while having an admiration for Spain and its culture, are none the less very distressed by this situation, .
In the coming months, this situation will be brought to public attention in numerous ways that are intended to exert pressure for change. It would be most helpful and at the same time positive for Spain’s image (especially in 2010 when Spain’s position in the EU will be front and foremost) if your office took a lead in this matter and gave support to moves to correct this situation.
May I thank you for your time in reading my letter and hope that you will help to introduce a law to protect the galgos of Spain, and penalise those people who dump dogs.
Yours
(name and country of residence)
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