Restoring Dignity to Spain’s Mistreated Hunting Dogs
Photographer Martin Usborne was seriously disturbed by the plight of the Spanish hunting dog. Bred for their speed and agility, Usborne says up to 100,000 dogs are abandoned or killed at the end of the Spanish hare-coursing season because they are deemed too old or too slow. To bring attention to this practice, Usborne spent two years photographing rescued hunting dogs in the areas where they are often abandoned or killed, including the sides of roads, ravines, rivers, and parking lots.
But even the rescue dogs are shattered and scarred. According to an organization dedicated to rescuing two common breeds of these dogs—the galgo (Spanish greyhound) and the podenco— these animals have often been starved, deprived of affection,