Often I tell my
students that changing the world is in our hands and that all change requires
but one step. That step was taken years ago when we first photographed galgos
hanging from trees, lifeless. That alone changed the lives of galgos in Spain
and I dare say also in other countries. The next step was taken when we
reported the case of the galgos that had been thrown into a well - with this, we achieved the
first ever conviction in relation to the Spanish galgos' cause.
And it has
happened again. This time, it was our friend Lucrecia, who, with the joint
collaboration of “El Hocico” (Spanish for “The Snout”) and “Scooby” appealed
against the clauses included in the allocation of contracts for animal
collection as the criteria for them were mainly
financial, and requested for that criteria to primarily take into
consideration the welfare of the animals. We won. This victory means this will apply to the whole of Spain, and from
now on, the criteria on all allocation contracts for the collection of animlas will need to compulsorily and primarily consider the
welfare of the animals instead of financial factors. In the past, the cheapest offers used to always come from pest-control
companies for which the wellbeing of the poor stray animals was not their main
concern.
In years to come,
we will realise the importance of this small act and how one person CAN change
history.
Kisses full of
joy, FermÃn.
