The Spanish Inquisition is alive and well

With sincere apologies to all those normal, civilised Spanish people who abhor the sadism of their fellow countrymen and the shame it brings to their country.

The Spanish Inquisition started in the late 15th Century. In Spain, of course.

It lasted for nearly four hundred years.

Probably the name best known in respect of the Inquisition is that kindly old monk, Torquemada.

Probably the two words most synonymous with the Spanish Inquisition are persecution and torture.

Victims were “questioned” in ingenious ways. Crushed, squashed, stretched, boiled, roasted, flayed, scraped, ripped, twisted, dangled …. there were many ways to make the last days of their life as excruciating, and their death as protracted, as possible.

You could say, I suppose, that the Spanish elevated torture to an art form.

Well, guess what? It’s still going on! Yes! Flourishing in the 21st century.

But the victims of this unspeakable barbarism are no longer Jews or those regarded as heretics. Now they are dogs.

Not vicious, powerful, aggressive dogs, but dogs with the gentle nature of Bambi, trusting, limpid eyed, obedient, wanting only to please.

These are the Spanish greyhounds, also known as Galgos, used by Spanish hunters known as galguerros. Abused by them. Ritually tortured by them in ways equally as inhumane as those once used upon people.

WARNING: DO NOT GOOGLE “GALGO IMAGES” UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE PHYSICALLY ILL AND HAUNTED FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.

This is what a healthy Galgo should look like:

I am not going to go into graphic detail here. Many people would rather not know, and I hate having vile, sickening images popping up unexpectedly, unavoidably. For those interested in knowing more about the treatment of the Galgos, and their smaller companions the Podencos, you could visit  http://www.galgonews.com/ and learn about the fate of the dogs, and the efforts of those fighting to defend them in the face of a Spanish government who seem to be doing fuck-very-little to stop the practices of their hunters.

One of the organisations working in the front line, in Spain, rescuing, caring for and rehoming the dogs is called Scooby Medina. They are currently caring for more than 500. Like most of us they are feeling the effects of the economic climate, and their situation is critical. Without financial assistance, without people adopting the dogs, they will fold by the end of the year.

We can’t all help financially, we can’t all offer a home, but we can, all of us, spread the word amongst our friends, worldwide to raise support and assistance for Scooby Medina, fighting the battle of good versus evil. And to let people know what happens in that country of sangria, sunshine, sombreros, the Alhambra.  All those glorious tourist attractions.

Killing in the name of God

The Spanish Spider

The Spanish Tickler - no, it is not a condom wearing a sombrero.

The darker side of Spain

It’s not all sangria, sombreros and sunshine. Personally I would never go to Spain unless I had to, nor do I buy Spanish produce if I can possibly avoid it, the reason being the unbelievable cruelty to animals that is practised in that country. I’m not only talking here about bull-fighting, stabbing donkeys with scissors and pushing them from rooftops, or shoving small creatures into clay pots and then stoning them to death.

I’m talking dogs, specifically the dogs used by Spanish hunters, the Galgo – similar to a greyhound, and the Podenco, a smaller hound.

TENS OF THOUSANDS of these gentle, sociable dogs are routinely tortured to death in the most barbaric fashion by their owners. Hanging by wire, setting on fire, dropping down wells, breaking of legs and abandoning are just a few of the ways they meet their death – not forgetting dragging behind cars. It’s impossible to get inside the mind of a human being who can treat a helpless creature in such a way, even more so when that creature has worked for and trusted that person. Actually, it’s impossible to believe that people who do such things are human beings. They’re certainly cowards – sin cojones.

Luckily not all Spanish people are sadists, and there are many working to rescue these dogs from the desperate conditions they find themselves in; and there are many groups throughout Europe who support them, fund-raising and rehoming those animals lucky enough to survive the ‘attentions’ of their owners.

French-based journalist and dog-lover Beryl Brennan took up the cause of the Galgos and Podencos several years ago, working with various rescue groups to raise money to help the sanctuaries in Spain, and to collect and rehome dogs, having adopted a couple herself. Now she’s written a book about the Spanish galgos, their origins, their treatment by their owners – the Galgueros, the volunteers who work so hard under harrowing conditions to save them, and the lucky ones who find new homes. Beryl’s book is now available as a digital download:

Click here to buy

A print copy of the book will be available from 14th June, and you can read the first chapter here.  A percentage of the cover price will go to Beryl’s Galgo Fund.

To learn more about the plight of the Galgos and Podencos, visit Bery’s website: Galgo News. There are many tails there which will touch and warm your heart.

Keep the tissues handy, and raise your hat to the people who fight the corner of the dogs, and have the courage and compassion to deal with sights and situations that many of us would find impossible to handle.

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Fenix shall live

Horses are being transported from Spain into France, where they are fattened up. Once they are fat enough, they are sent to abbatoirs in Italy, to be converted into meat. These animals travel for long, long hours in horrible conditions – many of them pregnant mares with foals at foot.

Some are luckier than others – they are rescued by people prepared to give them loving homes and a future. It’s a gamble taking on a horse whose history and temperament are unknown, you don’t know what you may end up with, but there are those willing to take that risk.

Fenix is a pink horse who will not be making the journey to Italy. He’s one of the fortunate ones who has been bought by a horse-lover. Fenix will need a lot of love and time to build his trust in humans. He needs quite a lot of food, too, because he has arrived at his new home in a very poor condition.

This is Fenix:

You can follow his progress here: http://fenixafarat.blogspot.com/