Utter cruelty.

“I believe in preventing cruelty to all living beings in any form.”

This quote from Morarji Desai, the former Prime Minister of India, is a very appropriate introduction to me republishing a post courtesy of Roughseasinthemed. It concerns the cruelty being meted out to some Spanish dogs. Or in her own words:

Thanks for picking up on the ‘dangerous’ dogs aspect. I think it is really important that dogs are not mislabelled, responsible dog owners have enough problems as it is. People are too quick to point fingers, and those of us who rescue dogs know what a difference food, water, a home, love and affection can make to a starving street animal. No dog asks to be thrown out. Or mistreated and abused. I’m currently trying to get some help and advice for a man who lives next to six Spanish hunting dogs that are chained up all day in a shed with a tin roof, where temps can go up to 50 degrees celsius, no food in their dishes and a floor covered in shit. Deplorable. These poor dogs must be traumatised.
Katherine later sent me a link to another blog with the details and some pictures. It is republished below, first in the original Spanish and then with an English translation.
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Perros de caza maltratados en Benissa:

Tenemos un “vecino” aquí en Benissa (Alicante), con 6 perros de caza encadenaros y estaban encerrados en una zona pequeña de 2 x 2m, un agujero tapado de placas de alumnio… las temperaturas en verano pueden subir a más de 50 grados, y los perros sufren terriblemente, lloran y ladran día y noche, viven y mueren en el infierno y sobre su propia “mierda”… Mi esposa y mi suegra están traumatizadas por esta crueldad, mandamos nuestra queja al Ayuntamiento y después de 8 meses respondieron que era lo que esperábamos por vivir en el campo… Tengo fotos tomadas de estos perros y su infames condiciones pero no estoy seguro de qué hacer con ellos porque aquí nadie parece querer saber nada…

dscf0744dscf0753dscf0741techo-de-metalWe have a ‘neighbour’ here in Benissa, Alicante with six hunting dogs, chained up and imprisoned in a tiny hole of a place (agujero is a hole but it’s not a literal hole, or you could use hellhole, which would be my choice), two by two metres, covered with a tin roof.

The temperatures in summer get towards fifty degrees Celsius (122 deg F.), the dogs suffer terribly, they cry and bark day and night, and they live and die in the hell of their own ‘shit’.

My wife and my mother-in-law are traumatised by this cruelty, we’ve complained to the council and after eight months they’ve replied: ‘what do you expect when you live in the countryside?’

I’ve taken photos of these dogs and their suffering but I’m not sure what to do with them, because here, nobody seems to know what to do.

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In a response to Katherine I wrote that these dogs must be given better lives. She then added:

Fair enough Paul. We do too, so, easy to do. Sadly this man has contacted Seprona, which is the Guardia Civil section in charge of hunting, and they have washed their hands of it. But people are trying to help, coming up with suggestions, and that is the important thing.

When you read this please hold these dogs in your thoughts and hope that their terrible ordeal will soon come to an end. Also go to that blogsite that is carrying the story and leave your messages of support, in whatever language you choose! Every little bit helps, as this comment on that Spanish post illustrates:

Contact DeAnimals, a firm of lawyers in Murcia who work with the police, judges, vets etc on animal abuse cases. Also ACTIN in Murcia. They will tell you what to do.

“The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.” Martin Luther King, Jr

14 thoughts on “Utter cruelty.”

  2. I think one of the main issues here is education. There is no justifiable reason to treat animals in this way. They are sentient, yet they are being used as a – disposable – commodity. Podencos are very loving, affectionate animals, and make super house dogs. But hunting with dogs has been a way of life for years, and for poor people, it’s eked out a subsistence living. At a guess, the dogs in the photos will almost certainly get fed on stale bread, free from the local baker (they feed horses on stale bread where I live too). It’s a long slow campaign to try and change opinions, and behaviours, but that’s the intention of the protest marches that were organised in the UK on 1 May, and are being held elsewhere throughout summer. I’ll do an update on that when I get some pix through. Slightly more upbeat at any rate.

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  4. Horrid. I’ve only this year heard of the cruelty going on in Spain and find it hard to wrap my head around how a first world country (with an educated population) can permit such a thing within their borders. Sickening.

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  5. In terms of offering a helping hand please, as many as possible, send an email (or letter or phone them):

    Hello Paul, the contact details for DEANIMALS is as follows:

    DeAnimals (Defensa de los Animales)
    Avda. Ciudad de la Justicía, 8
    Murcia.
    email: info@deanimals.com
    teléfono 968891838

    Not sure whether they speak English l would guess yes?
    Regards, Tony

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  6. Plus more information from Katherine that was sent to me as an email:

    Many thanks for your advice, comments and support, and knowing that we aren’t the only ones concerned about these dogs in Benissa.

    The person at the local council in charge of our complaint is Señora Gloria Ivars Martínez, councillor in charge of (environmental probably) health. She’s investigated the problem with our neighbour and says it’s normal because we live in the country(side) here in Benissa.

    Her contact information is below if you think that more pressure will help to sort out this problem:

    Sanidad, Tercera Edad, Protección Civil, Juzgado y Responsabilidad Patrimonial, Ayuntamiento de Benissa, Plaza del Portal,1 Benissa 03720 Tel. 965730058 ext. #223 – 674203337 Email: sanidad@ajbenissa.es and mariaconsuelopeiro@ajbenissa.es

    We can’t keep reporting this when clearly neither the local police, the council, the health department, want nothing to do with it.

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