Francisco Javier Marimón
Consejero do Agricultura, Ramaderia I Pesca, Generalitat de Catalunya
Gran Via 612
Barcelona 08007

Dear Señor Javier Marimón

In Holland / Belgium / France / Germany / UK / USA there is much publicity in the form of radio, television and press reports on the situation with regard to the imports of Irish greyhounds for track-racing in Barcelona. We also have direct experience of the sad state of these dogs because the Holland / Belgium / France / Germany / UK / USA people have generously opened their hearts and homes to caring for these poor creatures who have been transported to us from Spain in a desparate effort to accommodate a few of the vast number who must retire due to injury, ill-health or old age.

Sight-hound lovers in Holland / Belgium / France / Germany / UK / USA have been severely over stretched in their efforts to help these dogs and we fear we cannot help many more due to the over saturation, particularly from the closing track in Mallorca where 250 dogs had to be homed in northern Europe.

We understand that another track has closed in Barcelona leaving 250 more unwanted Irish greyhounds with no future. Mallorca track can no longer be used by the trainers in Barcelona to send their injured, slow dogs. There must be 600-700 more dogs left serving Meridiana track in Barcelona. What is to become of them? Is it not time that this whole issue of importing dogs to Barcelona for racing is stopped? Surely you have already enough unwanted dogs in your local refuges without adding to them a further 1000 more imported dogs per year?

Furthermore, we have seen visual and written reports of the deplorable conditions that these dogs are kept in at the racing kennels in Santa Coloma and San Adreu. We are horrified that a country such as Spain, even Catalunya, should tolerate such outdated, substandard and harsh kennelling amounting to no less than cruelty by ignorance on the part of the trainers and racing authorities in Barcelona.

Adopting a greyhound as a pet is a specialised business and much education, and maturity in the art of dog ownership is essential if these dogs are not to be subjected to even more suffering, misunderstanding and neglect. Sight hounds (afgans, whippets, deerhounds, borzois, Italian greyhounds and wolfhounds) are not popular or fashionable breeds in Spain, and racing greyhounds in particular need a certain amount of detraining in order to become perfect pets for the uninitiated.

We implore you to examine at first hand how these dogs are kept at both premises in Barcelona, in particular to measure the existing cages against your acceptable minimal regulatory requirements for kennelling. We implore you to consider closing the Meridiana track and banning the imports which perpetuate the cruelty and add to the already heavy burden on animal welfare workers and refuges in Catalunya.

We thank you in advance for your co-operation and kind overview of this whole matter of dog racing in Barcelona.

Yours sincerely

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