A Galway trainer of greyhounds used in racing and coursing has today been fined €7,000 and given two three-month prison sentences (suspended for two years) after he was convicted at Loughrea District Court of being in possession of controlled animal remedies.

The Irish Times is reporting that Gerry Holian of Raheen, Athenry "was prosecuted by the Department of Agriculture for impeding department officers by giving false information on the origin of the drugs and to being in possession of a variety of animal remedies at his premises without authorisation and against European Commission regulations on dates in February, March and April of 2018."

It stated that at Loughrea District Court today (28 June 2021), Holian "faced almost 40 summonses in total and was convicted on four of them relating to possession of the controlled drugs - the others were withdrawn".

It added that "the animal remedies included steroids" and that they had been seized by Department officials during a raid on Holian’s property. Read the full report at https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/greyhound-trainer-convicted-of-possessing-controlled-animal-remedies-1.4605664

In October 2019, RTE News reported that "among the remedies seized by department officials from Mr Holian were Stanozolol, Rexogin, Aquazolol, Calm P, 4 Fillies and Drive, substances with androgenic action, some of them steroids" https://www.rte.ie/news/connacht/2019/1002/1080703-greyhounds-loughrea-court/

The Greyhound Racing Ireland website shows that Gerry Holian has had 2,415 recorded race entries to-date, more than a quarter of these (681) resulting in a race win. In 2021, he has had 69 recorded race entries, with more than a third (24) ending in a race win.

As recently as last weekend, 26th June, greyhounds trained by Holian were used in racing at Limerick Stadium (headquarters of Greyhound Racing Ireland) and Shelbourne Park stadium in Dublin.

According to a report in the Offaly Express this month, "Buttsys Bengal was second for Gerry Holian and won himself €4,500." The greyhound, whose owner is listed only as BUTTSYS-BUCKOS-SYNDICATE, finished second in the SIS Race Of Champions Final at Tralee Stadium on 19th June.

Holian was among those featured on RTE's "Greyhounds Running for Their Lives" documentary in 2019. It highlighted his involvement in hare coursing and noted that he has "dominated the showpiece national coursing meeting held in Clonmel every year, winning three more titles in February [2019] to claim prize money worth €24,000".

The RTE documentary went on to outline that Holian trained Jumeirah Lolls (a greyhound owned by Country & Western singer and hare coursing supporter, Jimmy Buckley) which tested positive for pentobarbital during the English Oaks in 2017. Holian was fined £500 by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain.

At the time, Greyhound Racing Ireland reported that “Connections of greyhound Jumeirah Lolls received a severe shock today when they learned that the bitch would not be running in the final of the English Oaks at Belle Vue tonight due to a positive test during the classic...The latest word suggests that she tested positive for pentobarbital which is no longer on the prohibited list in Ireland." The GRI quoted Holian as saying: “I did nothing out of the way. I buy all my meat out of the factory where they kill all the animals themselves and I have never had a positive test after running dogs on the track and up the field all my life...”

This was challenged in "Greyhounds Running for Their Lives" which stated: "That was not true - in 2009, a dog he trained tested positive for Stanozolol in a heat for the English derby; Mr Holian was fined £850."

It added: "RTE Investigates has established that Department officials raided Mr Holian's Athenry kennels on three occasions last year [2018]. The results were staggering. More than half of all illegal products seized by the Department over a three year period came from those Athenry raids. Included in the haul were Stanozolol, Adrenaline, growth hormones and pentobarbital - the same drug he blamed on knackery meat in his last UK positive test. We put all these matters to Mr Holian; he did not respond." Watch the documentary at https://youtu.be/ZYTb2qBjlMM?t=953

ACTION ALERT

STOP THE STATE FUNDING FOR GREYHOUND RACING

Join us in calling for an end to the government funding that is 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 another €19.2 million for 2021. This is unacceptable and must be stopped.

Contact Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe and demand an end to state funding for greyhound racing.

Micheál Martin, Taoiseach
Email: taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Phone: +353 (0)1–618 4350 or +353 (0)21-432 0088
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD

Leo Varadkar, Tánaiste
Telephone: +353 (0)1-704 3630 OR +353 (0)1-640 3133
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Tweet to: @LeoVaradkar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar

Paschal Donohoe TD
Minister for Finance
Email: paschal.donohoe@oireachtas.ie; minister@per.gov.ie
Tel: 01 6045810
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaschalDonohoe/
Tweet to @Paschald

TELL SPONSORS TO STOP THEIR SPONSORSHIP.

Please get in contact with Glanbia and ask it to permanently end all sponsorship/support of 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/

Appeal to the Kerry Group (the company behind Pure sunflower/soya spread, Dairygold, LowLow, etc) to stop sponsoring greyhound racing.

Kerry Group
Phone: +353 (0)66 718 2000
Prince’s Street, Tralee, Co. Kerry
Email VIA: https://www.kerrygroup.com/help/contact-form/

Please sign and share petitions

Stop supporting the cruel greyhound industry
https://www.change.org/p/stop-supporting-the-cruel-greyhound-industry

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

Please support our campaign with a donation
https://www.paypal.me/banbloodsports

Watch RTE’s award-winning "Greyhounds Running For Their Lives" documentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYTb2qBjlMM