Actor Rory Cowan has joined calls for an end to greyhound racing, stating that “it should be shut down”.
The Mrs Brown’s Boys and Fair City actor, has questioned the government’s funding of greyhound racing.
“I don’t know anyone who goes, yet it’s a hugely funded ‘sport’,” he tweeted.
His statement follows an announcement from the Department of Agriculture that greyhound racing has been allocated another €19.2 million of taxpayers’ money in Budget 2021, bringing to €292 million the total amount of state funding in the past two decades.
Replying to a greyhound racing supporter who claimed “pre-lockdown Shelbourne Park every Saturday night is full to capacity and a brilliant night out!”, Rory responded: “Yeah, a brilliant night out if you turn a blind eye to what happens to most of the dogs when they hit 4-5 years old and can’t race anymore.”
The reality is that far from being “full to capacity”, attendance at greyhound tracks has been plummeting in recent years, including in the first two months of 2020 before any Covid19 restrictions were imposed.
At Shelbourne Park, the last remaining track in Dublin, there was a huge 36% drop in attendance in January (compared to the same month last year) - it fell to 3,752 for the whole month. Attendance continued to fall in February - down by 41% to 5,240.
Reacting to another racing supporter who maintained that “training racing animals is first and foremost welfare.” Rory stated: “Oh I’m sure training racing animals is ‘first and foremost welfare’...while they’re racing. But what happens when the dogs are 4-5 years old and can’t race anymore. The plight of most of them after that is appalling.”
Rory Cowan is among a growing number of actors, singers, directors and writers calling for an end to greyhound racing in Ireland. Among them are actors Ricky Gervais, Charlotte Ross, Rachel Pilkington, Gemma Atkinson, Peter Egan, Pauline McLynn, Aoibheann McCaul, Jenn McGuirk, Amilia Stewart, Esther Woods, directors Lenny Abrahamson and Andrew Higgs, producer Clare Stronge, singers Deborah Bonham, Don Mescall, Linda Martin, Kieran Goss, Tommy Fleming and Emma Langford, author/blogger Holly White, playwright Jaki McCarrick, columnist Andrea Smith, broadcasters Robbie Kane and Barbara Scully, etc https://www.facebook.com/banbloodsports/photos/?tab=album&album_id=2315886091860269
In greyhound racing, greyhounds suffer painful injuries and die. At tracks around Ireland in the past six years, at least 1,959 greyhounds were injured and 652 were killed. In addition, as exposed in RTE’s award-winning documentary "Greyhounds Running For Their Lives" documentary, around 6,000 greyhounds are killed every year because they are not fast enough to win. A report highlighted in the programme estimated that a total of 17,962 greyhounds were culled in Ireland in 2013, 2014 and 2015. They were killed for “failure to produce qualifying times”, “failure to produce desired entry level times” and for an “unacceptable decline in performance”.
Thank you to Rory Cowan for standing up for the dogs and calling for greyhound racing to be shut down.
ACTION ALERT
Say NO to cruel greyhound racing - don't attend races or fundraisers/stag and hen parties/office parties at greyhound tracks.
STOP THE STATE FUNDING FOR GREYHOUND RACING
Another €19.2 million of scarce public funds has been approved for greyhound racing for 2021. 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 vote against this latest 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 Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, the Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour to stop the funding and back a ban on cruel greyhound racing
Micheál Martin TD
Leader, Fianna Fail
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Phone: 021-432 0088
Leinster House: 01–618 3000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD
Leo Varadkar TD
Leader, Fine Gael
Telephone: 01-619 4020
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Tweet to: http://www.twitter.com/@LeoVaradkar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar
Eamon Ryan TD
Leader, Green Party
Tel: 01 618 3894
Email: eamon.ryan@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EamonRyanGP/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EamonRyan
Mary Lou McDonald TD
Leader, Sinn Fein
Tel: (01) 727 7102
Email: marylou.mcdonald@oireachtas.ie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaryLouMcDonald
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MaryLouMcDonaldTD
Alan Kelly TD
Leader, Labour Party
Tel: 067 34190
Email: alan.kelly@oir.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alankellytd/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/alankellylabour