Greyhound holocaust? Yes, that's exactly what the author(s) of Dogtime wrote in their February post today -"Stop Spain's Yearly Greyhound Holocaust: You Can Help!" I had heard about this before. I read earlier that Ireland had been sending its spent racing greyhounds to Spain. I was saddened that this Catholic country didn't send them instead to a much deserved retirement. Sending them to Spain was tantamount to sending them to a place of cruelty and suffering where they would be exploited by hunters. Yes, I am Catholic and ashamed of this lack of compassion by fellow Catholics. I am also ashamed that the Catholic Church does not involve itself in stemming this cruelty.
Having read about this cruelty before, I now learned that tens of thousands of these greyhounds are also actually being bred for this purpose and that many of them no longer wanted and found unsuitable for hunting end up hung, garroted, poisoned, or thrown off cliffs and into pits and wells.
If I thought it would do any good -I would write the Pope about this cruelty. In fact-all of us who feel devastated by this news re cruelty to these poor innocent dogs should do the same, but sadly, most of us just read articles like this and do NOTHING.
Hopefully, I will do SOMETHING. One thing for sure -- these poor greyhounds called Galgos are being placed on my prayer cards where I daily pray for family, friends, and causes -- many of them re animal suffering. I have been praying every day for some years now that the factory farms from hell will be dismantled. And akin to that prayer is the recognized need that all the churches, synagogues, and mosques teach lessons of compassion for animals and concern for the environment. If these entities had been involved with these concerns, then I think by now there would be much less animal suffering and a healthier environment. I believe that one of the teachings of Christ is that we be good and compassionate stewards.
These Spanish greyhounds spend their days confined in cages --often crowded with other dogs, and not surprisingly- not well fed and even starved. Their training is cruel too. They are forced to run fast by being attached to and dragged behind moving vehicles. And when hunting season is over, unbelievable further cruelty and indignities are heaped on these innocent living beings who have served their "masters" so well. If some are deemed good at hunting, they are kept alive to serve as breeding animals. For those who are not considered good breeding stock, they are either hung from trees, left to starve in a tiny cage without food or water, burned alive or thrown into pits, wells and off of cliffs. How can people be so cruel?
Yes, there are some compassionate people in Spain who belong to Spanish canine charities. They call this cruelty the "Greyhound Holocaust" and estimate that 50,000 dogs are affected every year. And what about the great numbers of wildlife destroyed as well?
To their credit, these canine charities try to help these greyhound victims. They also try to draw attention to the acts of their brutal mistreatment which is sadly taking place in their country. I pray that their efforts succeed. This is clearly another blot on the treatment of animals by some of the people of Spain.
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