Galgo News

Want to buy a galgo in France?

Thanks to June for bringing this to our notice. Breeding Galgos in France. Whatever is this man thinking about - breeding galgos. Does he not know what goes on in Spain?!

www.peumery.com

Translation of letter from the Office of the Spanish Prime Minister

Pat Getz, of the Greyhound Protection League USA, has kindly sent in this translation of the letter I received from the office of the Spanish Prime Minister.

She says 'A friend of mine who speaks Spanish and is married to someone who speaks Spanish as his native language was kind enough to do this translation. Kristin is very busy with two small children and many, many activities, but is a great animal lover. I thank her for her efforts.'

I thank Pat for her efforts too, and reprint the translation as sent to me.

From the Office of the Spanish Prime Minister

As a result of my letter to Snr Zapatero, the Spanish Prime Minister, about the plight of the Spanish galgos, I received the following reply - which I have to admit was a pleasant surprise, as I didn't expect such a result.

Sadly, my language skills don't include Spanish, so if anyone can send me a translation into English, I'd be delighted to receive it.

Click on the thumbnail images to the right to read the full text of the two page reply.

If you joined my campaign, and sent a letter as well, I'd like to know if you received a reply too.

And if you haven't already sent a letter, then click here and print off a copy of mine.

Come on, folks, let's bombard the Spanish government with protest letters, we've a 50% chance of getting them to do something!

Pressure on Nicaraguan gallery grows

The World Society for the Protection of Animals has continued to press for action following last year's art exhibition by Guillermo Vargas, which featured a dog chained to a wall with no food or water.

Elly Hiby, WSPA’s head of companion animals, said: "Information regarding the treatment and fate of the dog used in the 2007 exhibition is inconsistent, but for WSPA – irrespective of the exact outcome – chaining a dog without food or water for public entertainment is a reprehensible abuse."

More: WSPA says art is no excuse for cruelty

International Day of the Dog - A gaggle of Galgos comes to town

The International Day of the Dog....April 27th, 2008. It is an event worth celebrating, and more importantly, worth using to further the cause of the Galgos, those poor Spanish greyhounds whose lives are a million miles away from the happy, comfortable lives of most of our pet dogs, writes Joanna Simm.

PETA on the Latin American 'artist'.....

This is a recent communication from PETA on the subject of the starving dog in a Latin American art gallery.

'This is what I learned from my colleague about this very disturbing incident, which is just awful. It's been several months since these allegations first surfaced - we looked into it at the time and we are keeping a close eye on this monster.

Animalaid about the 'artist' and the starving dog.

Charl del Rio received this reply from the Animal Aid charity, in respect of the email which has been circulating about the 'artist' and starving dog in Latin America.

Dear Charlotte,

Thank you for sending us this email - we do share your anger. We have known about this 'artist' for some time (the exhibition with the dog was held last year) but it remains unclear what actually happened.

A reminder.... And update

A reminder that the vile man claiming to be an artist is still planning on taking a dog off the street, chaining it to a wall in a studio, and starving it to death, like he did last year.

Sign the on-line petition, and here are the email address and website of the art gallery where the artist murdered the dog in Costa Rica 2007 in the name of art!

info@madc.ac.cr
Museo de Arte y Diseño Contemporáneo - Inicio

CHECK OUT this link for an update on this http://www.greyhoundaction.org.uk/starved.htm I have written to HSI for more information and confirmation of what they say.

Petition for the Galgos from SOS Levriers

A plea from Kathi Backes of SOS Levriers for as many people as possible to sign their on-line petition before 31st March 2009.

Kathi says, 'Our last petition (17 000 signatures) was sent to the Spanish Minister of Environment. I think things in Spain are moving, and it is helped by these signatures by the thousands which come from people all over Europe! When we receive an answer, I will put it on our webpage, so all visitors can read it and see it!

We need to continue to work against those atrocities in all ways and one of these is our petition, this time to the President of the Parliament, Mr Zapatero. If we do nothing, nothing will change! So we need to take every opportunity to put pressure on the politicians who can change the laws!'

Stop the physical and mental cruelty against Galgos and Podencos in Spain

Urgent Help needed for Galgos in Andalucia

The following letter has been received from April and Paul Carrier, right, at the Alpha Dog Centre:

We have worked for 8 years rehabilitating and preparing small groups of 10 to 20 Spanish Galgos for adoption. We have been spared the reality of the desperate day-to-day struggle undergone by dedicated and caring individuals like Saskia and Juan the veterianarian, who spend the bulk of their lives working to help abandoned Galgos and many other dogs of all shapes and sizes at their shelter.

They are on the 'front line', seeing and experiencing the abandonment of galgos and other dogs on a scale hard to imagine.

This morning Paul went to visit their shelter, Acogida de San Anton in Villamartin, Andalucia, to collect another galga. He found Saskia and Juan sad and beginning to lose hope - they currently have in their care around 70 Galgos, and 125 other dogs.

The Boycott is Launched!

THIS IS SPAIN!

A boycott against Spain has been launched. Don't visit Spain on holiday, don't buy Spanish goods. Help the animals of Spain.

Visit Cruelty in Spain to discover more information about the boycott which has been launched against Spain and their abuse to animals, galgos/bulls.

Support an Animal Protection Law in Spain

The Spanish Environment Minister, Cristina Narbona, is inclined to create a new National Animal Protection Law to avoid the atrocities against galgos and podencos.

Please, email her to emphasise the support she will receive from galgo supporters worldwide.

ministra@mma.es

To read more, visit galgosinfronteras.

Stop this Man!

This petition is against a man who calls himself an artist. In 2007 he chained a dog up and left it to starve to death. He called it 'Art'. More on www.greyhoundaction.org.uk/greyhound.html

He is planning to do this again this year.

Please add your name to the half million people who have already signed.

This is the link. It requires your name, email addres, town and country completing, to add you on.

PetitionOnline.com

Charl del Rio has now written with more information, and a plea.

This email address, and website, is that of the art gallery where the artist murdered the dog in Costa Rica 2007 in the name of art!

info@madc.ac.cr
Museo de Arte y Diseño Contemporáneo - Inicio

PLEASE join me in sending a letter to them in disgust. My letter is below which you are welcome to use, or send in your own words. It would just take a moment.

Let's Make Our Voices Heard for those who suffer in silence

We all try and do our bit to help the plight of the galgos and podencos in Spain. What I'd like to do now is have a MASS letter-writing campaign to the Spanish Prime Minister. Together with Charl, we've put together the following letter.

Please print off a copy of the letter and send it to the Spanish Prime Minister.

Please tell all your friends to do the same, and ask other animal rescue/welfare associations to run this appeal on their websites.

I'm getting a copy of it translated into Spanish too, and I'm checking, as I think there are elections due to be held in Spain on 9th March and it may be that Senor Zapatero is not re-elected.

Also an email address, although I think letters through the post will have more chance of arriving on someone's desk! gabinete@presidencia.gob.es

Centro Canino - reply from the Lady Mayoress

For those of you supporters who wrote to the Lady Mayoress of Palma to protest about the closure of the centre, and who had their email returned, I have received the following reply.

Loosely translated from Spanish, it says,

'The council are not into "sacrificing animals if they can help it". The centre was opened in 2000, and licenced for 10 dogs. It now has more like 44. and local neighbours have complained.

Over a long period of time they have discussed this with the centre,

Latest News on Centro Canina Refuge, Majorca

Many of the email addresses did not work because they have been so
inundated by emails that either they have suspended the email address or
blocked them.

The association has managed to obtain a court injunction stopping the
removal of animals from the refuge.

The judge is still to rule if the association can keep the animals or
not.

We are in touch with the association and they appreciate the support you
have all given.

Thank you.

Saludos
Paul Agius
Presidente de ADANA
www.adana-estepona.com
0034 699 026 129

Death Day TODAY - There's Still Time

PLEASE HELP US and "NO" we don't need your Money!!

We run a dog rescue shelter in Mallorca, a small island off of Spain. > We are a member of WSPA and the RSPCA.

TODAY Palma Council plan to close us down. We've fought with them for years, but there's every chance that on

VALENTINES DAY FEBRUARY 14TH, they're going to send the Police into us & confiscate all of our resident dogs, cats, donkeys and horses.

In Spain? Join the March

Charlotte has just sent me this poster, and manifestation (.pdf). Apologies it is in Spanish. I'm desperately looking for someone to translate it into English for me, as she hasn't time at the moment.

But basically it's a protest against hunting with galgos and supporting animal welfare and the passing a new laws, everything we are fighting for, the national law will protect galgos, podencos and other Spanish hunting dogs.

If anyone can send me an English translation, I'll be really grateful.

Marking a milestone in France

This weekend, L’Europe des Levriers has carried out another urgent rescue of galgos from Spain for rehoming in France, as the number of dogs abandoned by the galguerros intensifies at the end of their hunting season.

This rescue comes only 3 weeks after their last one, which also marked a milestone. For the first time in France, 2 associations which fight for improvement for the life of the Spanish galgos organised a rescue together.

Blandine Nowak, President of L’Appel des Levriers, a new association in Landaise, and Beatrice Monnet, President of L’Europe des Levriers, travelled to Spain with their teams to rescue 25 galgos, marking a turning point in the fight against the barbarism of the Spanish hunters.

Another petition to sign

There's a 50% chance of it making a difference.

This link is to ask for your signature for one of the worst cases of abuse which came out on the TV - you may have seen it - it's where a man was seen beating his dog with a stick, filmed and denounced.

However the case is closed and these signatures will help to get the case re-opened and justice can hopefully happen.

Please take a mo to sign it and then pass it on.

www.tenerifeenlinea.com/firmas.php

Help the galgos of Chiclana

CHICLANA is a town near Cadiz. A few hundred eople, roughly 400 according to the estimates by the Peña Galguera Santa Ana (galguero club) enjoy, as a hobby, training galgos for competition.

Traditionally, they have trained them in El Fontanal, the Pinar público and the Cañada la Asomada, making them run behind their motor scooters on a course of about 15 kilometers in length.

Now they are denouncing the Seprona for not letting them train in these traditional areas because, according to their information, they say that “they border on private land”.

And another

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/peticion-against-cruelty-to-galgos

Another petition, this time from PETA, can be found here.

Another petition to sign

Here's another on-line petition for you to sign, and send details on to all your friends.

Don't be afraid there are no horrific pictures on the petition, those are available through a forewarned link.

http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/tortured_spanish_greyhounds

A Word from Anne Finch

in the beginning there was darkness but now there is more light... but we still have a long way to go

I applaud Beryl’s new venture here in France to create an English language website with continuing news of the galgo situation in Spain. Awareness of the plight of the galgos of Spain and their rescue, has come a very long way in the last 10 years, thanks to all of you.

Here’s how it began…It was the plight of the imported Irish greyhounds which in 1991 drove me to go to Spain to investigate and try to improve their conditions at the tracks in Mallorca, Valencia and Barcelona.

I had to spread the word abroad urgently as, due to the UK’s animal import laws, I desperately needed some sympathisers in mainland Europe to take in the discarded greys for adoption…a cumbersome task before the days of the internet.