GOOD PROSPECTS for ANIMALS in SPAIN. PLS. WRITE PRESIDENT!!!

[Guest guest]

PLEASE CROSSPOST WIDELY!!!-

 

Iris Gallegos i.gallegos @ hetnet.nl (remove 2 spaces) meriem

FW:Status of animal protection laws in Spain - Please WRITE TO THE PRESIDENT AND SPREAD THE WORD

 

So far, each Spanish region has its own legislation for animal protection,

some had none until very recently (Andalusia for instance) and the laws are

seldom taken into consideration although the abuses are shocking up and down

the land. Even when the SEPRONA, the excellent arm of the police that deals

with environment and animal abuse, investigates and reports that prosecution

is needed, the authorities act slowly or not at all.

 

There has been a change of government and now the PSOE rules. The previous

party, the PP from President Aznar did not wish that the status of animal

protection be improved, now there is some hope. To understand the reasons

why it is so difficult to achieve better animal protection in Spain one must

understand the vested interests at play. The bullfighting business (it is

just a business even if some Spaniards, and tourists, wax lyrical about

"tradition" and "art") moves an awful lot of money and it is also subsidized by the EU. Then there is the hunting fraternities. Powerful enemies of the non human animals indeed. No matter that the majority of Spaniards are

actually against or indifferent to bullfighting and the disgraceful

behaviour of many hunters appals many citizens.

 

Now that the PSOE is considering the much needed national animal protection

legislation we will have to wait and see how advanced or inadequate this

will be when compared to the one from Germany or Sweden, for instance. We do not want just a pet protection legislation, we want to see the treatment of farmed animals vastly improved, hunting heavily regulated in all its aspects, the animal breeders closely controlled and taxed, and the torture and killings of animals included in the criminal code. We

do not forget cases like the one in Tarragona where 15 dogs were horribly mutilated and left to

die and there were no prosecutions. Even if the police had done the right

thing and made arrests the criminals would have walked away with a small fin

e. This type of dreadful abuse is by no means exceptional in Spain and only

a strong law and its implementation could make people think twice before

commiting sadistic acts against defenceless animals.

 

But the law will not be enough. It will not by itself stop the countless

homeless dogs and cats in the streets, the overcrowded shelters where the

animals live in mere concentration camps, the casual way in which the people

allow their pets to breed. People have to be educated in the need to

sterilize their pets and the municipal authorities will have to subsidize,

at least during the first few years, the shelters that cannot afford to

sterilize all the animals before giving them to adopters. There are very

good programs that can be adopted and a government that wishes to be seen as

modern and compassionate (and Spain is heavily dependent on tourism) will

address these issues, will do away with dog pounds and present a civilized,

clean image where tourist are not constantly assaulted by the sight of

animal cruelty everywhere, as it has been the case until now.

YOU can help the animals of Spain by writing to the government and requesting that they adopt a legislation where cruelty to animals is included in the criminal code!:

Sr. Presidente Rodriguez Zapatero

administrador-web @ psoe.es (remove 2 spaces)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Domains - Claim yours for only $14.70/year