"Not good for hunting"

A court case is never won in a day. It is won filing by filing, deadline by deadline, with a case file that keeps growing long after the rest of the world has forgotten what happened.

It is the part of our work that nobody sees: keeping something going for years after it has stopped being news. And even though we are seething inside, we know that here perseverance is what wins.

In this case, we have had to wait five years.

On 6 February 2021, in the countryside of Almogía (Málaga), two men killed a podenco and threw his body down a ravine. When they were asked why, they replied that the dog was "not good for hunting".

We don't know what he was called. Perhaps he never had a name. But we do know that someone saw what was happening and did not look away. That witness was the first link in the chain.

We were the next link.

We decided to join the case as a popular accusation. And if it weren't for our lawyer, Cris, we truly would have forgotten about this case. I just want you to consider that dozens of cases reach us every day, and it is very easy to deal with whatever is most urgent and forget what we already have in progress. We are lucky to have Cris.

While the Public Prosecutor asked for 11 months, we asked for 18 months and the aggravating circumstance of cruelty. We didn't want this to be left as "just another case".

At last, there is a conviction. Both defendants have accepted 12 months and one day in prison for animal abuse, with the aggravating circumstance of cruelty that we had demanded, and four years banned from having animals in their care or any contact with them. It is the maximum ban.

I'll be honest with you: they will not go to prison. As they have no previous convictions, the sentence is suspended, on condition that they complete an animal welfare course. Is that enough? No.

There is still a long way to go before the justice system responds with the force these crimes demand. However, if we don't use the tools we have, those who apply the law will keep living in a world where animals seem to deserve no protection at all.

We fight for one animal who suffered, but we also fight for all the others who will probably suffer the same fate… because we know the day will come when our work will set legal precedent, and defending animals will no longer be a mere curiosity. Animals will have what they have always deserved: rights.

A court recognising cruelty matters. It tells hunters that a dog is not a tool to be thrown away when it stops performing. And that message affects thousands of podencos and galgos who are still caught in that same cycle of use and discard.

None of this happens by itself. To reach a verdict, someone has to take a seat on the prosecution bench, with time, knowledge and perseverance over many years. That presence is made possible by the donations of AnimaNaturalis supporters.

People like you.

Make a Donation

If this case has stirred something in you, I invite you to stay with us for the next one. Because there will be one.

Always with you,

Aïda Gascón Bosch
Director of AnimaNaturalis in Spain
www.AnimaNaturalis.org
+34 691.05.86.81

PS: This podenco was not an isolated case, and most of these stories never reach a courtroom. If you want to help make them visible, sign and share the SaveHuntingDogs.org campaign. Signing takes a minute, and it means nobody can say they didn't know.

Web version | Unsubscribe