Compassion News

100 Irish greyhounds rescued from Barcelona racing kennels

Eventually we were relieved to hear that the racing owners in Barcelona agreed to release 100 of the Irish greyhounds in Barcelona to Scooby.  A collaborative initiative between  Pro-Galgo, SOS Galgos, Greyhound Compassion and Scooby meant that 3 vans with 6 drivers were able to collect the greyhounds at the beginning of March 2006.  Greyhound Compassion sponsored one of the vans and purchased 100 muzzles for the greyhounds.  One Greyhound Compassion volunteer went to Barcelona to help with the rescue operation and share the driving.  When the drivers arrived at the racing kennels to collect the dogs, it was shocking to see the conditions the greyhounds had lived in during their racing lives.  The greyhounds were lively but racing had taken its toll on their physical condition.  Their joints were arthritic, some toes were misshapen and their coats were far from glossy.  While it was clear that the kennel staff loved the dogs, the buildings and facilities bore a greater resemblance to a concentration camp.  After sedating and loading the greyhounds into the vans, the 8 hour journey to the Scooby shelter began.  There are no words to describe the drivers' feelings as the 100 greyhounds were unloaded from the vans at Scooby.

On the day of the rescue, the racing manager said that 350 Irish greyhounds remained in the racing kennels. There were conflicting reports about how many had already been taken by gypsies and hunters.  We understand it was somewhere between 200 and 100 greyhounds.   He also indicated that Scooby could return to the racing kennels the following week and rescue another 100. 

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