EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT CALLS ON SPAIN TO IMPROVE GALGO WELFARE

We hope pressure from Members of the European Parliament will cause Spain to take action against the incomprehensible cruelty inflicted upon galgos through Spain. The following article was published in Spanish newspaper ‘El Mundo’ on 5^th October 2011.

The European Parliament seeks answers from Spain regarding cruelty to galgos

Several Members of European Parliament have written to Zapatero asking for a stricter legal framework to prevent cruelty to these animals

ANTONIO GONZÁLEZ Madrid 05/10/2011 16:49

Galgo abandoned in Olivenza (Badajoz) EL GUADIANA Y LA TRAILLA

The cruelty inflicted upon galgos in many regions of Spain is of great concern within Europe. This concern was expressed in a letter to José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero from three Members of European Parliament, including the European Parliament’s President of the Intergroup on Animal Welfare, Carl Schlyter.

The letter, signed by Schlyter and two other members of European Parliament, Kartika Tamara Liotard and Raül Romeva, states that “members of the public, as well as many associations, have informed us about many cases of abuse and outright cruelty. Galgos are found severely beaten, burned alive, doused with acid, dumped in wells, tied down in caves and left to die, hanged or tortured in other ways.”

The letter recognises that Spain has improved its animal welfare laws by condemning animal cruelty under Article 337 of Spanish Penal Code, however it warns that “it appears that only a very small number of cruelty cases end up in court, even if Seprona, the environmental arm of the Guardia Civil, has made the case”.

The letter, the original of which can be found on the galgo welfare blog El Guadiana y la Traílla, refers to the Treaty of Lisbon which states that animals are sentient beings, reminding Zapatero that each member state must pay full regard to the welfare requirements of its animals and that Spain must enforce its animal protection laws and put an end to these cruelties. The European MPs recognize that cultural traditions of member states should be respected but “must not be an excuse for these kinds of atrocities towards living beings”. They request an urgent response from the Spanish government.

A universal Animal Protection Law remains to be approved as part of Spain’s legislation. The initiative was requested by Joan Herrera, then MP for ‘Iniciativa per Catalunya Verds’, under an agreement with the Commission for the Environment, Agriculture and Fisheries that was reached on 30^th September 2009.

The aim of the law was “to make progress in animal welfare”, but it did not win many votes as the majority of power lies in the hands of the various autonomous community governments in Spain. In any case, the results put an end to hopes of the law being approved as part of national legislation.

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The original letter: