In the years 2021 and 2022, AnimaNaturalis and CAS International documented 29 dog kennels used for hunting. During the investigation, we found animals living in their own excrement, with dirty or frozen water, exposed to inclement weather and with stereotypes produced by captivity.
In Spain there are 337,326 hunting licenses issued, which makes it the third most federated activity, despite having suffered a 30% decrease since 2005. However, there are numerous non-federated activities that are much more practiced in the same natural spaces. . According to data from the National Statistical Plan of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, 15.8% of the citizens practiced hiking, 15.5% went running, but only 1.4% of the Spanish population went hunting at least one time during the year 2020.
The hunters' collective is also famous for the miserable conditions in which they keep their dogs. This is precisely the group responsible for the largest number of abandoned dogs in Spain. In Catalonia alone, more than 60% of the dogs that are abandoned in shelters come from hunting activities. In addition, each year, the abandonment of between 50,000 and 80,000 greyhounds coincides with the end of the hunting season. This is a very high figure considering that the protectors collect a total of 285,000 animals annually.
When reviewing the material collected during our investigation, consulted veterinarians detected unsanitary conditions, poor and dangerous facilities, excrement in the rest areas, water in poor condition and even living with corpses in the same kennels. The dogs showed stereotyped movements resulting from prolonged captivity, chains that limit natural movement and development, nervousness and irritability, and other signs of poor health, such as lameness and restlessness.
Veterinarian Coque Fernández Abella, founder of Santuario Gaia, was even more convincing in indicating that the conditions that hunters consider suitable for their dogs cannot but be a type of prolonged mistreatment, due to neglect of care and neglect of the basic needs of the dogs. animals.
“What we see are not isolated cases or contrary to regulations. It is the daily and legal reality in which hunting dogs live their miserable lives”, explains Aïda Gascón, director of AnimaNaturalis in Spain. “The fact that hunting groups and some politicians continue to insist that these animals are sufficiently protected by current legislation is not only a fallacy, but negligence. All dogs suffer equally, regardless of the use that is made of them", she says.
The report was developed by the AnimaNaturalis team and the photographer Aitor Garmendia, awarded by World Press Photo in 2021. The drone images were provided anonymously by independent researchers.
Protection of the law
The Hunting Regulations in force in Spain date from 1970. In it, only reference is made to dogs in terms of the cleanliness that the trailer that transports them must comply with, their correct control during hunts or that they should not remain tied during all the year, without specifying the maximum time in which they can be.
With the entry into force of the new spanish Animal Protection Law, all dogs, cats and ferrets, regardless of the purpose for which they are destined or the place where they live or from which they come, would be considered pets. This law would force hunting dogs to be microchipped to better control their upbringing, responsible ownership and to reduce their abandonment as much as possible.
Compulsory sterilization would not be imposed, but their breeding would be allowed only to registered breeders. The new law would also ensure that they are guaranteed a suitable cabin, with good hygienic and sanitary conditions and protection against inclement weather.
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