ARCHIVED - Fortuna man arrested in connection with the violent deaths of 4 greyhounds

Hunters often dispose of their dogs as quickly as possible when they are too old to be of use

A resident of Fortuna in central Murcia has been placed under investigation by the Seprona wildlife protection wing of the Guardia Civil following an investigation into the violent deaths of 4 greyhounds on his property.

The case was brought to the attention of the Guardia by one of the many greyhound adoption groups in Spain which denounce as barbaric the tradition among hunters of disposing of old greyhounds when they are no longer fit and agile enough to be of use. The group reported finding four dead dogs in a water tank at an abandoned rural property and Seprona officers soon arrived at the scene to determine the cause of the animals’ death and to investigate why the bodies had not been disposed of according to health and hygiene regulations.

They established that at least two of the dogs had been hanged and another was found to have suffered numerous head injuries, and as a result a 54-year-old man was identified and placed under investigation.

In the light of this case the Guardia Civil once again urge members of the public who are aware of cases involving the maltreatment of animals to inform them using the hashtag #YoSiPuedoContarlo. An increase in public awareness of this problem has been noted since this campaign was launched in 2017 and Seprona are keen to involve as many people as possible in combatting the kind of behaviour which is becoming less and less acceptable in modern Spanish society.

The greyhound protection groups of Andalucía, among them Galgos del Sur, have adopted 1st February as Greyhound Day, coinciding with the end of the hunting season. According to the organization, every year in Spain between 50,000 and 80,000 greyhounds are abandoned, although president Patricia Almansa suspects that the actual figure is even higher: she says that in general each hunter with greyhounds owns between 6 and 20 of the dogs, and that in the province of Córdoba alone there are 1,500 licences. She is among those who assert that hunters view their dogs as disposable items, and that rather than look after them during the off season they prefer to get rid of them and "rear a new dog" for the following year.

Animal protectorates across Spain work hard to rescue as many dogs as possible and rehome them; here in the Murcia region we have several. Just last week we wrote about the work undertaken by Friends of Mazarrón Animals to persuade hunters to hand over unwanted dogs for rehoming rather than kill them, and asked if anyone was willing to donate just a little money to help them continue this work; last month their vet bill for rescuing animals came in at 5,000 euros!

Other local protectorates such as Helping the Perrera dogs, Mamas and Noahs Arc all work in the Mazarrón area, and in the Mar Menor area volunteers at the Los Infiernos perrera all work to rehome as many dogs as possible, many of the dogs sent abroad to loving homes.

But all of this costs money and all of the charities are desperate for more funds to help them continue their work.

Help them if you can; volunteer to walk the dogs, donate goods for sale to their charity shops, buy things from their shops, attend their fundraising events....don´t just make a disgusted comment on social media and then do nothing..... we can all do something no matter how little.

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