A greyhound breeder has been fined €1,000 and ordered to pay costs of €5,681.50 after starving greyhounds were found at his premises in "extremely poor condition".
The Sligo Champion (8 May 2021) has reported that "when the premises of Kieran O'Donnell of Kilmacteague, Aclare was inspected on 3rd December 2019, greyhounds were found in 'extremely poor condition', looked hungry and starved and the premises was described as 'deplorable'."
O'Donnell, who was not present in court, was prosecuted for failing to ensure that greyhounds under his care on 3rd December 2019 were kept in a matter so as to avoid unnecessary suffering.
During the inspection, 12 greyhounds were discovered and Tubbercurry District Court heard that:
- One of the greyhounds was "very underweight" and another was "really, really underweight". Both had bones protruding.
- There was no food on the property on the day
- There was no water in the kennels
- "They were in extremely poor condition, very hungry looking and starved."
- The greyhounds "had fleas on them"
- "The premises was deplorable"
The greyhounds were seized and subsequently seen by a vet. Veterinary surgeon Rachel Moran told the court that "one dog needed a good bit of feeding, had pressure lesions on pressure points, elbows and hips from hard surfaces [and] had a lot of fleas and flea dirt and disease".
She said one of the greyhounds weighed just 19.7kg and that she would expect her to weigh considerably more.
"She was fairly representative of the rest, one was in good condition," she added.
Before convicting him, the judge commented: "The greyhounds were ill treated. This man has been operating under the radar for some time...Something went wrong for him to fail. They [the greyhounds] did suffer."
The Sunday World reported at the weekend that "Kieran O’Donnell refused to explain why he let the dogs suffer such neglect when the Sunday World spoke to him this week."
In its report headed "CRUEL CASE: Dog breeder fined for keeping 'starved' greyhounds in 'deplorable' conditions", the newspaper quoted him as saying: “I can’t talk to no-one, right.”
Read the full reports at
Greyhound breeder fined after dogs were found in 'extremely poor condition'
Sligo Champion, 8 May 2021
https://www.independent.ie/regionals/sligochampion/news/greyhound-breeder-fined-after-dogs-were-found-in-extremely-poor-condition-40382765.html
CRUEL CASE Dog breeder fined for keeping 'starved' greyhounds in 'deplorable' conditions
Sunday World, 8 May 2021
https://www.sundayworld.com/crime/courts/dog-breeder-fined-for-keeping-starved-greyhounds-in-deplorable-conditions-40402559.html
ACTION ALERT
Many dogs suffer in the cruel greyhound “industry”. Thousands are killed behind the scenes every year because they are not fast enough to win races. Others suffer painful injuries and are destroyed at tracks. It’s time for the Irish Government to stop the suffering by withdrawing the massive grants that are keeping greyhound racing afloat.
Since 2001, Greyhound Racing Ireland (formerly the Irish Greyhound Board) has been granted more than a QUARTER OF A BILLION EUROS, including €16.8 million for 2020 and €19.2 million for 2021. This is unacceptable and must be stopped.
Please contact your local TDs and urge them to oppose this funding. Visit the Oireachtas website for contact details for TDs https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/tds/?term=/ie/oireachtas/house/dail/33
“Stop state funding to cruel greyhound racing” - Email all Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour Party TDs.
Fianna Fáil TDs
john.mcguinness@oireachtas.ie; niamh.smyth@oireachtas.ie; brendan.smith@oireachtas.ie; aindrias.moynihan@oireachtas.ie; michael.moynihan.td@oireachtas.ie; micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; michael.mcgrath@oireachtas.ie; Charlie.McConalogue@oireachtas.ie; sean.haughey@oireachtas.ie; jim.ocallaghan@oireachtas.ie; darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie; jack@jackchambers.ie; anne.rabbitte@oireachtas.ie; eamon.ocuiv@oireachtas.ie; james.lawless@oireachtas.ie; sean.ofearghail@oireachtas.ie; sean.fleming@oireachtas.ie; barry.cowen@oireachtas.ie; willie.odea@oireachtas.ie; niall.collins@oireachtas.ie; Robert.Troy@oireachtas.ie; dara.calleary@oireachtas.ie; thomas.byrne@oireachtas.ie; marc.macsharry@oireachtas.ie; jackie.cahill@oireachtas.ie; mary.butler@oireachtas.ie; james.browne@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.murnaneoconnor@oireachtas.ie; cathal.crowe@oireachtas.ie; james.oconnor@oireachtas.ie; padraig.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; christopher.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; paul.mcauliffe@oireachtas.ie; john.lahart@oireachtas.ie; cormac@cormacdevlin.ie; normafoley1@eircom.net; joe.flaherty@oireachtas.ie; Stephen.Donnelly@oireachtas.ie
Fine Gael TDs
JohnPaul.Phelan@oireachtas.ie; Heather.Humphreys@oireachtas.ie; joe.carey@oireachtas.ie; david.stanton@oir.ie; colm.burke@oireachtas.ie; michael.creed@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Coveney@oireachtas.ie; joe.mchugh@oireachtas.ie; richard.bruton@oireachtas.ie; Eoghan.Murphy@oireachtas.ie; Paschal.Donohoe@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Farrell@oireachtas.ie; emer.higgins@oireachtas.ie; neale.richmond@oireachtas.ie; josepha.madigan@oireachtas.ie; colm.brophy@oireachtas.ie; leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.carrollmacneill@oireachtas.ie; Ciaran.Cannon@oireachtas.ie; hildegarde.naughton@oireachtas.ie; Brendan.Griffin@oireachtas.ie; bernard.durkan@oireachtas.ie; Martin.Heydon@oireachtas.ie; charles.flanagan@oireachtas.ie; kieran.odonnell@oireachtas.ie; Patrick.O'Donovan@oireachtas.ie; peter.burke@oireachtas.ie; fergus.odowd@oireachtas.ie; alan.dillon@oireachtas.ie; michael.ring@oireachtas.ie; helen.mcentee@oireachtas.ie; damien.english@oireachtas.ie; frank.feighan@oireachtas.ie; paul.kehoe@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Harris@oireachtas.ie
Green Party TDs
Eamon.Ryan@greenparty.ie; catherine.martin@oireachtas.ie; patrick.costello@oireachtas.ie; francisnoel.duffy@oireachtas.ie; neasa.hourigan@oireachtas.ie; brian.leddin@oireachtas.ie; steven.matthews@oireachtas.ie; malcolm.noonan@oireachtas.ie; joe.obrien@oireachtas.ie; marc.ocathasaigh@oireachtas.ie; roderic.ogorman@oireachtas.ie;
ossian.smyth@oireachtas.ie
Sinn Fein TDs
john.brady@oireachtas.ie; pat.buckley@oireachtas.ie; Sean.Crowe@oireachtas.ie; david.cullinane@oireachtas.ie; Pearse.Doherty@oireachtas.ie; dessie.ellis@oir.ie; kathleen.funchion@oireachtas.ie; martinkennysf@gmail.com; MaryLou.McDonald@oireachtas.ie; denise.mitchell@oireachtas.ie; imelda.munster@oireachtas.ie; eoin.obroin@oireachtas.ie; donnchadh.olaoghaire@oireachtas.ie; aengus.osnodaigh@oireachtas.ie; louiseoreillysf@gmail.com; maurice.quinlivan@oireachtas.ie; Brian.Stanley@oireachtas.ie; mark.ward@oireachtas.ie; chris.andrews@oireachtas.ie; martin.browne@oireachtas.ie; matt.carthy@oireachtas.ie; sorca.clarke@oireachtas.ie; roseconwaywalsh@eircom.net; reada.cronin@oireachtas.ie; pa.daly@oireachtas.ie; paul.donnelly@oireachtas.ie; mairead.farrell@oireachtas.ie; thomas.gould@oireachtas.ie; johnny.guirke@oireachtas.ie; claire.kerrane@oireachtas.ie; padraig.maclochlainn@oir.ie; johnny.mythen@oireachtas.ie; ruairi.omurchu@oireachtas.ie; darren.orourke@oireachtas.ie; patriciaryan975@gmail.com; pauline.tully@oireachtas.ie; vwynne@gmail.com
Labour Party TDs
sean.sherlock@oireachtas.ie; aodhan.oriordain@oireachtas.ie; duncan.smith@oireachtas.ie; gerald.nash@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Kelly@oireachtas.ie; brendan.howlin@oireachtas.ie
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Watch RTE’s award-winning "Greyhounds Running For Their Lives" documentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYTb2qBjlMM