Cruelty to greyhounds/galgos in Member States

25.2.2015

Question for written answer E-002866-15
to the Commission
Rule 130
Fabio Massimo Castaldo (EFDD) , Tiziana Beghin (EFDD) , Marco Valli (EFDD) , Marco Affronte (EFDD) , Eleonora Evi (EFDD) , Ignazio Corrao (EFDD) , Dario Tamburrano (EFDD)

It is estimated that 50 000 to 60 000 greyhounds a year are killed in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and more than 30 000 galgos españoles (Spanish greyhounds) are killed in Spain alone.

Most of these dogs are killed before they are two years old if they are not considered suitable for racing.

Those which are picked to race are kept in small cages and let out only for training; if they are injured, they are taken to dogs' homes or sold to laboratories (for experiments) or Asian markets (to be used as meat in restaurants).

Galgos suffer a similar fate; during the hunting season they are kept in the woods, shut up in tiny shacks or in burrows in the ground, without being fed or looked after. At the end of the season they are brutally killed or taken to dogs’ homes, where they are destroyed in any event if they are not claimed within ten days.

1. How can the Commission help to protect the health and welfare of these animals and save them from the cruelty described above?

2. What steps has it taken to implement and add to the European Union Strategy for the Protection and Welfare of Animals 2012-2015, as endorsed by Parliament on 4 July 2012?