José Valín Alonso
Consejero de Agricultura y Ganadería
Junta de Castilla y Leon
C/Rigoberto Cortejosa, 14
Valladolid 47014
Spain

Dear Señor Alonso

I write to beg for your attention and assistance concerning the situation in your country of the greyhounds who are used for racing and hunting up and down the country areas of Spain.

In Holland / Belgium / France / Germany / UK / USA there has been publicity, photographs, press articles and television programmes showing the deplorable fate of these poor animals who are bred in their thousands in a totally uncontrolled manner and who are then abandoned at the end of the hunting season each year. We see in the media how many of these lovely creatures end their days; hanged, burned, marooned, shot, run over by cars, left to starve in the countryside or dumped in overcrowded, disease-ridden dog pounds. Many of these dogs have been brought from Medina del Campo to homes here in Holland / Belgium / France / Germany / UK / USA. Those of us who have adopted these dogs, or have seen them on our television, have become both upset seeing their sad state and also enamoured by their beauty and gentleness.

This scandalous situation must be only secondary to the infamous torture of bulls in your country which labels Spain as having the worst reputation for animal cruelty of any other country in Europe. This is unworthy of Spain and should be rapidly addressed.

You yourself have within your powers the means to improve instantly the future of these dogs. Scooby Organisation and its President, Fermín Pérez, we know are dedicated helping greyhounds and we know they want to build a refuge in the area of Medina del Campo to offer a purpose-built asylum for unwanted greyhounds, an educationally programme and a national centre where this serious issue can be addressed. The present rented warehouse with 240 dogs in a space for 75 with no installed electricity, water or heating and no funds for professional workers is totally inadequate and an unfair burden to place on animal loving volunteers by a problem which has been created by the fun-loving, thoughtless, ruthless hunting fraternity of Spain.

We urge you to listen to, support and react positively to, the constructive ideas of Señor Pérez and his assistants whom you are fortunate enough to have working in Spain on this issue.

We in Holland / Belgium / France / Germany / UK / USA thank you in the hope that you will co-operate.

Yours sincerely

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