Moving to Spain part 2: Animal Cruelty

In my short time in Spain I have found the people to be incredibly warm and helpful. But there is a minority who seem to feel that its OK to treat animals badly and if you’re thinking of moving here you need to be aware of this (especially if you have pets).

The Spanish have a real love for animals and they play a huge part in their tradition, customs and history. The bull, in particular, is inextricably linked with Spain because of the controversial sport of bullfighting. Equally, where there are bulls there are horses and in my region – Andalucia – it is common to see ‘caballeros’ roaming the countryside atop a beautiful steed.

But, there is a real animal cruelty problem here and it is very shocking if you’ve come from a place like the UK where animals are adored. A friend of mine recently made the comment that “if the Spanish are having a festival you can guarantee that some poor animal is going to get it” and two weeks ago my local village hit the national news when kids kicked and punched a baby bull to death during the annual fayre (if you can stomach it, the video is below).

Hunting is very popular in this area but the dogs and horses are kept in awful conditions, locked up in concrete bunkers for hours on end in temperatures that often soar above 100F. And when a dog starts to lag behind the others it is hung from a tree because it doesn’t deserve a bullet.

The other major issue with animals in Spain seems to be the refusal (for religious reasons) to get animals castrated. This results in huge swathes of abandoned cats and dogs roaming the streets and its not uncommon to find kittens and puppies in bins or even by the roadside. In Spain there is no equivalent to the RSPCA so it is left to voluntary organisations to collect the strays and rehome them. The Brits run most of these and in every village you’ll see charity shops dedicated to the cause.

There is no doubt that the Spanish have a different view to the treatment of animals and at times this can be shocking. But those 10 lads that killed the bull were (so I was told) each fined 60,000 Euros. The practice of running baby bulls at ferias has now been banned across the whole of Spain, so, someone, somewhere, is taking notice, but its going to take along time for the views of the campesinos to change. Meanwhile the charity organisations will continue to rehome strays and lobby the government.

Hopefully things will change soon but, in the meantime, be aware of the situation.

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