Galgo News

Dog-Walking in Spain - Spanish law explained

A couple of days ago I asked the question - what is the law in Spain on exercising galgos, if they are companion dogs. Andrew Hurrell, a founder of Noahs Arc in Mazarron, has personal experience of the problem; he shares it here with you.

'Fury from Camposol ex pats regarding hunting fine of 300 Euros

My partner and I worked tirelessly with a dog rescue for three years in the Murcia area, and fostered and rescued numerous Greyhound types (called Galgos in Spain) which were cast off by hunters at the end of each season; you can imagine that hunters are not the most well thought of individuals amongst the dog rescue fraternity in Murcia.

Major boost for welfare of dogs and cats in the EU

Greyhounds Rescue Holland have sent the following information.

'Just after 12 o’clock on 13/10/2011, GRH received a call from the Liotard team that the Written Declaration on Dog Population Management has been supported by more than half of the Members of the European Parliament. Many volunteers across Europe, amongst whom GRH, have lobbied with their MEP’s to get their support.

This Written Declaration asks for Members States to adopt comprehensive dog population management strategies and anti-cruelty laws, with the aim to harmonise animal welfare standards across the European Union. This marks a significant shift to developing EU legislation in this matter.'

Read more here.

Rabid puppy imported into France from Morocco

In August 2011, a case of canine rabies was notified to the French Veterinary Services. A French family from the Vendee travelled to Morocco on holiday, and whilst there, they 'adopted' a stray 3-month old puppy, which they illegally imported to France.

The puppy presented behavioural changes on 1 August and was admitted to a veterinary clinic on 6 August. It died the following day and the body was shortly sent to the national reference centre where rabies was laboratory-confirmed on 11 August. Contact tracing and post-exposure treatment were initiated immediately

Read the full story here and a further article discussing the need for anti-rabies injections.

Spain - how to report a suspected case of animal cruelty

HOW TO REPORT A SUSPECTED CASE OF ANIMAL CRUELTY

August 2011

There are increasing numbers of animal cruelty cases and people who come across them, often don't know how to make an official complaint (denuncia) to the police. Seprona, the environmental arm of the Guardia Civil, has given the Costa Animal Society this set of guidelines on what to do.

Pet Passports UK - DEFRA relax rules from January 2012

Good news for everyone involved in travelling dogs between the UK and the rest of Europe. DEFRA have now brought their entry rules into line with the rest of Europe from January 2012. Read the full report here.

Podenco Frank needs help - read his story on Podenco Post

This is Frank, he is now in the veterinary hospital. Galgos del Sol need help with his vet fees. Read about it on Podenco Post. To help raise funds to pay the vet, Galgos del Sol have bracelets for sale; they aren't expensive. You can buy one - or more - here.

Euro Group for Animal Welfare - protecting cats and dogs?

Euro Group for Animal Welfare have just published their monthly bulletin. Here's a copy of one of the articles. Click on the weblinks at the end of the article to read more.

European Council gives green light for concerted action to protect cats and dogs

Spanish Galgos in Zaragoza - ebay item for purchase

Thank you to Valarie Woolf who has kindly forwarded this interesting item up for purchase on ebay. If you scroll down the page, there is a translation from the Spanish into English.

More on galgo passports for British adoptants

People who have adopted a galgo from Spain need to check the dog's passport, if they are considering taking it back to the UK, either for a visit or permanently.

Errors have been found on some passports, notably that the microchip has been done after the rabies vaccination. Also, blood tests have not been carried out to check the level of antibodies.

Information on requirements can be found on the DEFRA website, where this .pdf document is available.

This is what one adoptant says:

Possible problems for Galgos going to the UK

I've heard from a couple of British people who have adopted galgos through French associations, who are concerned about possible problems with the Spanish passports if the dogs need to make a trip to the United Kingdom.

In one instance, there are no 'valid until' dates for any of the injections, and the microchips have been inserted after the rabies injections.

DEFRA requires any dog going back to England to be microchipped BEFORE the rabies jab. Because of this problem, a 2nd rabies injection will now have to be done, with a blood test no less than 1 month after.

The dog can then travel to England 6 months after the date of the blood test, not the injection - 7 months in all.

The blood test can be left longer than 1 month, but the results can be less positive, and a wait of 6 months from the date of the test is still required.

In another instance, the rabies injection was given but no test was done at all.

Since more British people are now adopting galgos from Spain, perhaps the associations involved in their rescues could make further checks on the Spanish passports, before bringing the dogs out.

I'd be interested to hear of any other instances where problems have arisen with the Spanish passports. Email me with details

UPDATE: More on problems for galgo owners bringing dogs into the UK