The plight of the Spanish Podenco, and the fight to end the cruelty
- Kris Needs
- Apr 7
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 8
Legendary music journalist Kris Needs shares his own experience of amazing Podenco Binky, and the plight the beautiful dogs face in Spain
“What sort of dog is that?” I’ve heard those words so many times on my daily morning walks with Binky it’s difficult not to have developed a stock answer.
“She’s a Podenco.”
“Oh, I don’t think I know that breed. Where is she from?”
“Spain. They’re bred for hunting.”
“Oh, she’s lovely. Is she a rescue?”
“Yep, there’s thousands like her. The most abused dogs in that country.”
By this time, Binky is turning on the full show; sniffing their pockets for treats, batting her semaphore ears and almost fluttering her eyelashes. The inquisitive ladies (for some reason it's always ladies) will already have seen the ever-shifting entertainment of Binky walking by my side; sniffing, stopping to sniff more, head tilted in look-out mode or maybe looking up at me with a smile.
Friendly, irresistibly cute with the most multiple expression face seen in a dog, Binky is as appealing, loving and lively as any of the black labradors, cockapoos or spaniels we encounter on our walks. Yet she doesn’t look like any normal dog, being descended from the Pharoah Hounds of ancient Egypt; the oldest breed of dog in the world.
Yet the circumstances into which Binky was born and what those deeply expressive eyes may have seen or endured growing up is shocking, stomach-turning and often barely believable. She certainly flinches at the wheelie bin if I move it in her vicinity, like it harbours some dark memories from her past.
Often referred to as Spain’s “Invisible Dogs” or “The Great Forgotten”, Podencos are bred to hunt as working dogs, often enduring cruel, squalid conditions, chained and fed rotten scraps to keep them hungry for their day-job. The methods used to train them to hunt are cruel and out-dated. Combined with the appalling living conditions, usually cramped concrete blocks, when the hunting season is over the teeming shelters are overrun with injured, sick, traumatised and invariably doomed Podencos.
They can be left with steel rods forced in their mouths to stop them barking or, if they are considered too slow or old for the next season, dumped, thrown down wells, chucked into ravines, drowned, burnt alive or hung from trees; this can amount to between 60 and 80 thousand dogs every February.
Adoption is the only way to save them but, as they’re not regarded as pets, this is usually only possible through active rescue. There are so many it’s lucky to save one in several hundred, or even thousand, unless the laws change.
Podencos are not protected by Spanish law. In 2023, hunting dogs were even excluded from an overhaul to the country’s animal rights laws as they are simply seen as tools, like a shovel, machete or garbage bin. Spanish law recognises dogs as sentient beings but excludes Podencos and Galgos (the Spanish greyhound) to the point they may even be classified as livestock.
There are three main breeds of Podenco; Andaluz, Canario and Ibicenco, although there are many spin-offs and regional variations, including the little short-legged Maneto. In short, Podencos come in all shapes and sizes, with different personalities and mannerisms.
Binky is an Andaluz, usually bred for rabbit hunting, who Podenco activist and serial dog lover Nina Walsh rescued as a puppy in Malaga eight years ago. The first thing she learned is that Podencos need a lot of exercise, mental stimulation, a fair degree of patience and a lot of love as they get used to the first humans to show them any care or kindness. When they do, in Binky’s the love is returned a grateful thousandfold.
It’s agonisingly unthinkable to think what thousands of dogs just like Binky are put through by the inhuman hunters. Nina is not alone and marches have been held in London, Exeter, Manchester and Glasgow, all glorious displays of Podenco solidarity. “We raise banners and our voices to tell the world about these beautiful hounds,” says Nina. “Their magic, their loyalty, their quiet grace. We adopt them, love them and we speak out for them, until Spain grants them the recognition, freedom and life free of cruelty they deserve.”
The first move is continuing to tell the world about this barbaric form of cruelty that, at the very least, needs to be addressed and even outlawed.
Find out how to help Podencos using the following links: https://www.freespanishhounds.co.uk
Find out more about Binky and Nina at http://www.ninawalshstory.com/podenco
