What are your images of Spain? Are you thinking of visiting or buying a property there? Perhaps you already live out there. Maybe you are contemplating the purchase of a luxury apartment at Polaris World?
Maybe you have thought of all the issues involved before you make such a move, but, if you are an animal lover - or someone who cannot bear to see an animal ill-treated - there is an issue you will not have considered that may, ultimately, affect your decision.
ANIMAL CRUELTY IN SPAIN
Animal cruelty is rife in Spain. From the abandoned animals that litter the towns and countryside, to the frequent road-kills that appear every few kilometres along the Spanish roads, you will soon discover that, with the exception of a few Spaniards and some very dedicated vets, animal welfare is NOT a priority in Spain. There is no dedicated organisation such as the RSPCA, to which one could turn for help or advice.
DOG HELL IN ALHAMA DE MURCIA
On an isolated strip of land, in a mainly agricultural region of Murcia, about 10km from the town of Alhama de Murcia and approximately one kilometre from the new Polaris World development of Condado de Alhama, there is an example of animal abuse that is all too common in this region.
On first inspection, this compound does not appear to be as bad as some images you can find that highlight animal cruelty, but look a little closer and read on........
This small island of Dog Hell began life as a narrow strip of uncultivated scrubland. A rectangular strip of land, it measures about 25m wide by 250m....not enough to legally build any permanent structures but large enough to dump a few animals.
Just over two years ago, in March 2005, a fence was erected to enclose the land and the first of the dogs were confined. There were four dogs, initially, and they were left in the compound which, while enclosed by a a well-built low wall and fence, was still a narrow strip of uncultivated scrub land with no shelter of any description, no power and no water. Their owner, a Spanish woman, resident of the town of Alhama de Murcia, visited every two or three days to leave food and water for them. The enclosed space was littered with the debris from the fence-building work and was extremely hazardous for any animal to move around in. 
PET CARE - SPANISH STYLE!
When the few residents of the area realised there was soon to be a dog compound on their doorstep, and alarmed at the conditions into which the dogs were being placed, they enquired about the proposed plan for the care of the animals. They soon learned that these dogs were to be confined in the compound while their owner remained living in the town. She informed them that these animals were her pets and this was their new home. Unsurprisingly, given the isolation and lack of amenities in the area, she was not planning on sharing this new home with them! The surrounding area, like the compound, is desolate. 
FIGHTS AND BEATINGS
After a couple of weeks the bored and neglected dogs began to fight amongst themselves and two in particular were often covered in blood. Their owner made no effort to separate them or tend to their injuries. On one occasion, as the dogs fought for attention on one of her visits, she picked up a length of pipe and began to beat one of the dogs with it!
DEATHS AND A SHALLOW GRAVE
More dogs were dumped as the weeks went on. When one of the bitches gave birth to a couple of puppies it was during the full heat of a summer's day where there was still no shelter and little water. Predictably, the owner failed to show for a couple of days and one of the puppies died. When she did show, she merely picked up the dead pup, cleared a shallow space in an area close to where the bitch was nursing her other pup, dumped the dead puppy into the depression and covered it with a wooden pallet....one of the many that lay about the place. The little grave became an intense area of interest for the other dogs!
PERSONAL SPACE
As the months passed, Dog-Girl (as we shall call her), began to put corrugated iron shelters into the compound to store foodstuffs. More fencing was erected to divide the compound into smaller sections. The dogs were placed into smaller areas, restricting their freedom and cutting them off from each other. While these structures offered some shelter to some of the dogs, they were furnaces during the heat of the summer when temperatures rise into the high 30s. For an unlucky few, the only shelter they could find was that which they dug for themselves in the scorched earth.
Click on this link:
http://usera.imagecave.com/dogcrueltyinspain/digging_for_shelter/
MORE DEATHS AND BURIALS
Over the next eighteen months, more and more dogs arrived.....and more died. The first small grave had been concreted over (to avoid discovery?), so another area was chosen. This was located in the middle of one of the smaller compounds where a group of dogs lived. The dead animals are unceremoniously dumped into a shallow depression in the ground, then covered with a wooden pallet and rocks.Sometimes Dog-Girl puts the corpse into a black plastic bag, but this cannot prevent the other dogs rummaging around and digging up whatever they can reach.
Click on this link for images:
http://usera.imagecave.com/dogcrueltyinspain/shallow_graves/
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