In February the Spanish hunting season ends. At that time, the dogs used are massively dumped and killed. Per year i.e. about 50,000-100,000 dogs.
These remarkable dogs became showpieces for the nobility for centuries. Only the upper classes were rich enough to hunt for sport, so the dogs were a point of pride. This noble association meant the podencos and galgos were once highly respected, but everything changed with the introduction of English greyhounds, which were faster on flat surfaces and straight distances. Hunting changed too. No longer was it a noble domain. In their new role, galgos and podencos became disposable products. Now, when a hunting season ends, the dogs who don’t perform well, or are too old, are destroyed and dumped in mass graves. My pictures are not meant to openly criticise how people treat their dogs, but show the majesty of these natural born hunters – their pride, their grandeur and their long historic background. That is the reason I portrayed them in an almost 17e century way, which signifies the Spanish golden age.
