The owner of a greyhound who tested positive for a PROHIBITED SUBSTANCE has been commended by the Irish Greyhound Board's Control Committee for his "excellent level of co-operation".
The substance, Naproxen, was detected in the greyhound at Galway Stadium, with the owner being fined just €200.
The greyhound, named Grahams Star, finished last in the "GAIN INTERTRACK CHALLENGE ROUND 6" - one of a series of races sponsored by Glanbia's GAIN brand. Glanbia has ignored calls for it to stop supporting cruel greyhound racing, even after the shocking RTE Investigates documentary revealed that 6,000 greyhounds are mercilessly killed every year because they are too slow to win races.
As revealed in the Irish Greyhound Board’s February 2020 “Adverse Analytical Findings” report, “Naproxen returned from a urine sample obtained from the greyhound Grahams Star at Galway Greyhound Stadium on the 31st of July, 2019."
The IGB report states: "Mr Brian Johnson [Ballybane, Co. Galway], registered owner/trainer of the greyhound Grahams Star appeared before the Committee. Mr. Pat Herbert, Head of Regulation, Bord na gCon, represented Bord na gCon in this matter. The Control Committee, having considered all of the evidence in this matter was satisfied the case presented by Bord na gCon was proven. The Control Committee noted the explanation tendered by Mr. Johnson that he administered two Paracetamol tablets and one Vimovo tablet to the greyhound four days prior to the race in question as he thought the greyhound may have sustained an injury. Mr. Johnson also stated he was unaware the tablets contained a prohibited substance and he was of the belief that the substance involved would have cleared the greyhound’s system within the four day period prior to the race in question."
Johnson was fined €200, but not before the IGB Control Committee commended him for his "excellent level of co-operation".
3-year-old Grahams Star has been raced at Galway, Shelbourne Park, Limerick, Curraheen Park and Dundalk stadiums, with total prize money to-date of over €5,000.
He is the latest in a growing list of greyhounds testing positive for prohibited substances at tracks around Ireland.
Previous IGB “Adverse Analytical Findings” reports show that…
- Carprofen was detected in greyhound Looney Mctoe at Shelbourne Park on 19 November 2019. On the night, the 2-year-old dog finished third in the “Barking Buzz A6/A7 525 Semi-Final” race.
- The active ingredient in Viagra was detected in a greyhound at Limerick stadium during the summer. Sildenafil, was found in greyhound Makingtherunning according to the Irish Greyhound Board’s November 2019 “Adverse Analytical Findings” report. The detection was made at Limerick stadium on 24th August 2019 after the greyhound finished third in the “Bet Into Shelbourne Park S7 Lower 350” race. https://youtu.be/tuRD_iQ4CFw
- Amphetamine was found in a urine sample taken from greyhound Night Time Mammy at Newbridge track on 31 May 2019. The IGB website shows that the greyhound finished first in the “Troy Electrical & NTSC Tri Distance A3/4 Final” race, with winnings of €1,600. Appearing before the Control Committee, the greyhound’s owner, Donal Brennan, “stated at the outset that he was taking full responsibility for the adverse analytical finding”. He was fined just €500.
- Acepromazine was found in a sample taken from greyhound Confey Bay at Mullingar stadium on 16th February 2019. The greyhound was “an extremely nervous and ‘hyperactive’ greyhound” and a tablet, containing the prohibited substance, was given to the greyhound “to calm her down”. The owner/trainer was fined just €300 and the €50 prize money was forfeited.
- Acetaminophen and Codeine were found in a sample taken from greyhound Our Ellas Prince at Shelbourne Park stadium on 25th June 2019. “The Control Committee noted that [owner] Mr Houston stated in his evidence that he had administered Paracetamol tablets to the greyhound as pain relief medication. He was unaware at the time that Paracetamol was a prohibited substance...The Control Committee accepted the explanation tendered by Mr Houston and the Committee was satisfied Mr Houston did not administer the medication to the greyhound to enhance the greyhounds [sic] performance. Having taken all the circumstances into consideration, including the excellent level of co-operation received from Mr Houston, the Control Committee decided not to impose a fine on Mr Houston. The prize money of €255 won by the greyhound Our Ellas Prince in the event in question is forfeited.”
Ibuprofen has also been found in samples taken from greyhounds in the past year. The Control Committee noted that “Ibuprofen is a therapeutic human medication which is not licenced [sic] for canine veterinary use”.
- Ibuprofen was found in a sample taken from greyhound Finnery Loch at Lifford stadium on 16th March 2019. The owner, from whom there was a “lack of co-operation” was fined just €300
- Ibuprofen was found in a sample taken from greyhound Slippy Ned at Tralee stadium on 29th March 2019. The owner was fined just €200 and the €200 prize money was forfeited.
- Ibuprofen was found in a sample taken from greyhound Beaming Rainbow at Dundalk stadium on 16th March 2019. The owner was fined just €200 and “the prize money of €50 won by the greyhound Beaming Rainbow in the event in question is forfeited”. According to the IGB website, the prize money for Beaming Rainbow at the race was not €50 but €0.00.
- Ibuprofen was found in a sample taken from greyhound Some Ginger at Dundalk stadium on 8th February 2019. According to owner Adrian Markey, “the greyhound was being treated for a muscle injury with Ibuprofen Gel the week before the race. On changing the greyhound’s bedding the week after the race, Mr Markey said he found a tube of Ibuprofen Gel that the greyhound had chewed on unknown to Mr Markey”. The owner was fined just €200.
- Ibuprofen was also found in a sample taken from greyhound Cricket Field at Dundalk stadium on 12th July 2019. The greyhound finished last in the “Fanfruit Ltd Open 600” race. The owner was fined just €200.
Propranolol - a “serious substance that has the potential to slow a greyhound down” was found in greyhound Yesterdays News who finished last in the “Tote Trio Pool 525” race at Tralee Greyhound Stadium on the 22nd September, 2019.
- Naproxen detected in a urine sample taken from greyhound Grahams Star at Galway Stadium on 31st July 2019
For more details about these and other detections, read the reports at https://www.igb.ie/Resource/adverse-analytical-findings/
SEE ALSO
A “serious substance that has the potential to slow a greyhound down” has been found in a greyhound who finished last in a race at Tralee stadium
https://www.facebook.com/banbloodsports/photos/a.463548137094083/2734424903339717/
The trainer of a greyhound who tested positive for a metabolite of cocaine three times in 2017 has “no case to answer” - that’s according to the Irish Greyhound Board’s Control Committee which has just published its latest findings
https://www.facebook.com/banbloodsports/photos/a.463548137094083/2719942871454587/
A greyhound trainer fined £3,000 after two of his dogs tested positive for COCAINE, received a reference from an Irish greyhound trainer and breeder who is helping him "start a new life in Ireland".
https://www.facebook.com/banbloodsports/photos/a.463548137094083/2726290790819795/
ACTION ALERT
Say NO to greyhound racing - don't attend races or fundraisers/hen parties/office parties held at greyhound tracks
STOP THE STATE FUNDING FOR GREYHOUND RACING
Another €16.8 million of scarce public funds has been approved for greyhound racing for 2020. Since 2001, greyhound racing has received more than a quarter of a billion euros of taxpayers' money. Please contact your local TDs and demand that they stop this funding. Visit the Oireachtas website for contact details for TDs https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/tds/?term=/ie/oireachtas/house/dail/33
Urge the leaders of Fine Gael and Fianna Fail (who back the grants every year) to stop the funding.
Leo Varadkar
Leader, Fine Gael
Government Buildings,
Upper Merrion St, Dublin 2
Telephone: 01-619 4020
Email: taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie; leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Tweet to: http://www.twitter.com/@LeoVaradkar
Leave a comment on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar
Micheál Martin
Leader, Fianna Fail
Constituency Office
137 Evergreen Road,
Turner’s Cross, Cork
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie
Phone: 021-432 0088
Leinster House: 01–618 3000
Leave a comment on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD
SAMPLE LETTER
(If you have time, please write your own personal letter)
Dear Deputy,
I am writing to urge you to please stop supporting the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations.
The regulations will channel another €84 million of taxpayers’ money into the horse and greyhound racing gambling industries in 2020, bringing to more than one and a quarter billion euros the amount handed over since 2001.
Much of the money given to horse racing ends up as prize money in the pockets of wealthy horse owners and trainers, while the funding for greyhound racing continues despite plummeting attendance at tracks due to shocking revelations about cruelty and killing.
If you saw the "RTE Investigates: Greyhounds running for their lives" documentary, you will understand why there should be absolutely no support given to this shameful industry. The programme revealed that 6,000 greyhounds are killed every year simply because they are not fast enough to win. We were shown horrifying scenes of greyhounds being delivered to knackeries to be shot in the head. One dog was seen writhing on the ground in agony as his merciless owner drove away https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYTb2qBjlMM
The programme also highlighted the illegal practice in the greyhound industry of doping dogs to make them run faster or slower to influence the outcomes of races. Also shown were greyhounds with their ears chopped off or burned with acid (to remove identity tattoos before being dumped) and the hellholes that await Irish greyhounds exported to China and Pakistan.
The Irish public is shocked and disgusted at the revelations, which have sparked multiple, ongoing protests outside tracks and calls for a ban on greyhound racing.
A RED C opinion poll commissioned by the Irish Council Against Blood Sports and Greyhound Action Ireland shows that two out of every three Irish adults agree that the government should stop funding greyhound racing [66% Agree, 16% Disagree, 18% Don't Know, Of those stating an opinion, 80% of these agree that the Irish Government should stop funding greyhound racing while 20% disagree.] An opinion poll conducted by TheJournal.ie also found that an 80 per cent majority want the government to permanently end the grants. Petitions urging the government to stop the funding have been signed over 300,000 times.
It is COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE that scarce public funds have been pumped into these gambling industries. It is time for this to be stopped and for the money to be redirected to the many deserving causes crying out for funding.
Please stop supporting the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations.
Thank you. I look forward to your positive response.
Yours sincerely,
[Name/Address]
Join us in urging Swiss travel agent, Clubilis (Email: info@clubilis.com / Tel: +41 22 7317700) to remove greyhound racing ("courses de levriers") from its Ireland tour itinerary https://www.clubilis.com/voyages-sorties/grand-tour-dirlande-du-16-au-27-juillet-2020/?fbclid=IwAR3aTGC6l-8JagsS68AvWIuPOsOCdUNgo0MymZXHyl6-10-iw5an_bMhJfc
Urge Viator’s CEO Barrie Seidenberg (Email: barrie@viator.com) to remove greyhound racing from the company’s website. Describing greyhound racing as “a slice of traditional entertainment”, it is currently selling tickets to Shelbourne Park and to the Newbridge and Drumbo Park tracks.
Urge discounts website, Groupon, to scrap its greyhound racing offers - Please sign and share the petitions. Don’t use Groupon until it stops promoting greyhound racing.
https://www.change.org/p/groupon-uk-groupon-scrap-your-greyhound-racing-discounts
https://www.thepetitionsite.com/336/797/911/groupon-stop-promoting-the-greyhound-racing-industry/
Urge Glanbia/Gain to stop supporting cruel greyhound racing.
Jim Bergin
CEO, Glanbia
Glanbia House,
Kilkenny, Ireland
Telephone: +353 (0)56-777 2200
Email: corporatecomms@glanbia.com, info@gainanimalnutrition.com
Tweet to: @GlanbiaPlc
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GAINpetnutrition/
Please sign and share petitions
Stop supporting the cruel greyhound industry
https://www.change.org/p/stop-supporting-the-cruel-greyhound-industry
Ban Blood Sports in Ireland Now
https://www.change.org/petitions/ban-blood-sports-in-ireland
Ireland - Ban cruel hare coursing
www.change.org/p/ireland-ban-cruel-hare-coursing
GAA: Stop club fundraisers at greyhound tracks
https://www.change.org/p/gaa-stop-club-fundraisers-at-greyhound-tracks
Tell Gain Pet Nutrition to Stop Sponsoring Greyhound Racing
https://www.change.org/p/jimtracy-glanbia-ie-tell-gain-pet-nutrition-to-stop-sponsoring-greyhound-racing
Sinn Fein: Support a ban on cruel hare coursing
https://www.change.org/p/sinn-fein-support-a-ban-on-cruel-hare-coursing