Greyhounds Transported In Cruel Conditions

by Sherry Morse

Thirty-six racing greyhounds bought at a sale in Ireland and shipped to Spain for resale were found suffering from heat, hunger and dehydration after spending thirty-eight hours wedged into small, overcrowded cages on a 750 mile journey.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) and the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA) said the greyhounds were crowded into twenty cages too small for most of them to stand properly for their trip by ferry and road.

Those dogs that were sharing cages were unable to sit or lie down at the same time.

The animals had been watered only once during the trip. Only four of the dogs were exercised at a stop in France, while the rest were hidden from public view by a thick tarpaulin over their cages.

Temperatures during the trip reached in excess of 104F.

Both the ISPCA and RSPCA worked together in Ireland with the RSPCA then trailing the greyhounds en route from Brittany to Barcelona, Spain.

Current European legislation mandates that dogs and cats transported for commercial purposes must be watered once every twelve hours and fed every twenty-four hours, although rest and exercise needs for animals in transit are not addressed.

Ferry companies consider these animals freight and do not check them while the journey is in progress.

RSPCA Inspector John Wilkins said, "The laws for transporting dogs for commercial purposes must be urgently looked at in order to address these very serious welfare concerns."

Wilkins also suggested ferry companies reclassify dogs and cats as "livestock" so they would have access to better conditions when being shipped by sea.

Members of a Spanish greyhound rescue group, SOS Galgos, a local veterinarian and officers from the Spanish National Civil Guard Police met the dogs when they arrived in Spain. The veterinarian was reportedly disgusted by the conditions he found the dogs in.

The driver of the truck in which the greyhounds were being transported was issued citations by Spanish police for a number of Spanish and European Union violations.

Those violations included: not having a journey plan; failing to disinfect the vehicle prior to transporting the dogs; and not having a vehicle registered to transport animals. Charges of welfare violations are still a possibility.

© 2003 Animal News Center, Inc.