From Plataforma NAC
Many years ago I wrote about the horrendous conditions for the dogs in Mairena perrera, near Seville. For a while the volunteers were refused access because of the photos which were published. volunteers now have access to the dogs again.
Maria says ‘There are currently 12 podencos at Mairena’s dog pound. This is one of the worst dog pounds in Spain. The dogs are not fed properly, they are sick and nobody cares, the dogs are not euthanasied properly (they don’t use the normal “stuff” and the dog takes forever to die), “galgueros” (hunters) are VIP visitors and can adopt all the dogs they want… Please, help them.’
Last week Scooby took in 40 galgos from Fundacion Benjamin Mehnert in Seville. This week they are taking in 140 – yes, 140 – from all over Spain! Here’s a message from Scooby’s President, Fermìn Pérez Martìn:
Hello to everybody:
I am writing to all of you because we are receiving a huge amount of pleas of help from everywhere for taking galgos from perreras all over Spain and I would like to count on you with your support financially and taking dog, you know that without all of you we will not be able to do it, we have the space and you have the rest so together we are a winning team, waiting for your answer. Fermin
To donate, visit the website.
And if you are planning a holiday, why not go and stay at Scooby Medina and help with the hundreds of dogs and other animals.
Meet Cleo, a small Podenca Andaluz, who has also suffered at the hands of the Spanish hunters. Luckily, she has now found her forever place of safety, in France with Djimba. Betty tells her story.
‘As of so many of her kind, the history of Cleo is unknown but also not hard to imagine. Born In the wild, taking care of herself, not kindly treated by humans.
At the beginning of 2012 I received an email from a friend in Barcelona – did I know a solution for a little podenca with an extreme fear of humans? Djimba is a home for old, ill or handicapped dogs and Cleo was none of these. However in the last 13 years we have had a lot of experience with traumatized dogs and her little face touched us.
I have to admit to being somewhat upset. Not for myself, I hasten to add, but on behalf of my friends in Spain and elsewhere in Europe. I’m talking about the amazing animal rescue volunteers, rehomers, fosterers – everyone involved in helping abandoned and injured animals in Spain. Regular readers will know how often I praise these people – they work tirelessly against terrible odds, risking their health, their relationships, threats to themselves, their families, their homes. I’ve visited them in Spain over the past few years and seen what they do, every day, every week, every year – no letup. Read on
Appeal in today.HELP desperate: The spoils of hunting in Cordoba. Story from the volunteer.
‘This is what hunting brings, hundreds of abandoned animals when they can no longer serve, whatever age, race or sex. This is an urgent case, like everyone else, but it’s terrible to see them thus knowing what they are going through. They are 3 podencos: one male and two females, all very young.
They are abandoned in an industrial estate where it is common to have clandestine sheds where hunters breed dogs and have them without seeing the light of day, only when they take them to hunt, in sub-human conditions. When they do not hunt, this is what happens: begging in the area, skin and bones, hardly having the breath to survive.
Please read this moving article written by Vivienne Wharton of ACTIN in Murcia, Spain. The group works to try and change the attitude of many Spanish people towards animal cruelty, abandonment and neutering their pets. Please join ACTIN and support the group in their work.
This is the beautiful Mama of two healthy Podenco puppies (male and female). They were rescued by Inma (Macu) in Seville and are in the shelter. They are two months old. The mother has a major infection in her ears, but she is already in veterinary treatment. Their names are Bimbo and Bimba.
Please, can you help me to spread about them? I’m the contact: carminalvarezrea@gmail.com
APDDA is a Spanish association taking up the initiative on behalf of the millions of Spanish who abhor animal cruelty in any form in Spain.
What is it?
The ‘Parliamentary Association in Defence of Animals’ (APDDA), has no allegiance to any particular political trend and is made up of parliamentarians and former parliamentarians – representatives and senators – concerned about animal welfare. It was created, in the Congress of Deputies on December 19, 2007, with the aim of promoting legislative initiatives in favor of animal rights.
Together with several organisations, notably Galgos Ethique Europe and l”Arche de Levriers, Greyhounds Rescue Holland has worked on the foundation of the Collectif Europeen pour la protection des Levriers, in English known as the European Collective for the Protection of Hounds.
Following discussions and consultations with the office of the Member of European Parliament Mrs. Striffler, (she is the MEP who marched with us in Strasbourg in March 2012), it is clear that the only way forward is a collective and sustained effort by European organisations and European participation of the public. No small feat indeed and we are well aware that it will be a difficult uphill climb. But the bigger the challenge, the stronger the determination!
Read the rest of the article here.
