Spanish hunting dogs mistreated in kennels

Video footage from 29 kennels across Spain shows the neglected dogs, chained and abandoned by their owners.

They live in their own excrement or are forced to drink putrid water in frozen kennels: this is the cruel life of Spain's hunting dogs, as revealed by a published investigation by an animal welfare organisation.

AnimaNaturalis and CAS International published their findings as the Spanish animal welfare law was on the verge of being passed, urging the government to include hunting dogs in the legislation.

The ruling socialist government wants to introduce an amendment that would exclude these dogs from the legislation, arguing that existing law provides them with sufficient protection.

Investigators claimed that at the end of the hunting season in February, between 50’000 and 80’000 of these dogs were abandoned or even hanged when they were no longer of use.

What we see (in our investigation) are not isolated cases or (cases that) violate legislation. It is the everyday and legal reality in which hunting dogs live out their miserable lives.

Aida Gascón, Director of AnimaNaturalis

«The fact that hunting associations and some politicians continue to insist that these animals are adequately protected under current legislation is not only a fallacy, but negligent. All dogs suffer equally, regardless of how they are used.«

As part of the animal welfare campaigners' campaign, a red bus toured Madrid this week displaying the image of a hanged dog alongside a picture of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

The Spanish government argues that the legislation applies to pets and not to working animals such as hunting dogs, police animals, livestock, or fighting bulls.

This means that pets are considered sentient beings, which means they can no longer be seized, pledged, abandoned, mistreated, or taken away from one of their owners in the event of a separation or divorce.

The legislative amendment proposed by the government has proven politically divisive, as some allies of the left-wing minority coalition have pledged to oppose the amendment proposed by the Socialists.

«The PSOE has made a mistake and must correct it, because hunting dogs must have the same rights as all others«, he told the news agency Servimedia.

Emiliano García-Page, leader of the Socialists in Castilla-La Mancha in central Spain, where hunting is a popular pastime, supported the government's position.

He claimed that only Spain's 17 regional authorities had the right to regulate animal welfare.

The Royal Spanish Hunting Federation (RFEC) was asked for comment but did not respond.

In a recent statement, the RFEC described the government's proposed amendment as «very positive».

The organization also disputed the claims made by animal welfare groups regarding the number of abandoned hunting dogs.