A protester was assaulted during a demo at Shelbourne Park greyhound stadium last month.
In a Facebook post, the My Lovely Horse Rescue group wrote: “Last night [18 September 2021] one of our volunteers was assaulted outside the stadium while she peacefully protested. An Garda Síochána were called but would not go into the stadium so she could identify the man (who was from the UK).”
The post added that “a lot of the people attending were from the UK and Northern Ireland” and “the majority of them [were] very abusive”.
On the night, a greyhound sustained fatal injuries during a Boylesports-sponsored race and died. The dog, named Deadly Samuri, is believed to have suffered a broken leg and neck.
A member of the public who contacted Greyhound Racing Ireland was told that the dog - who would have been 3-years-old this month - was attended by a vet after being knocked over at the first bend but died of fatal injuries.
A photo obtained by ICABS shows a buggy vehicle carting the dead dog away before the racing and gambling continued.
Video footage of the fall has been hidden by Greyhound Racing Ireland and is unavailable to view on its website.
Campaign group CAGED Nationwide reported that a witness told them that the greyhound "appeared to break his leg and his neck during his awful fall at Shelbourne last night, and was killed almost instantly."
The group added that "punters and staff showed zero emotion as this boy's limp body lay on the ground before being wheeled away in the buggy and then the night continued as though nothing had happened. Clearly these people are used to seeing dogs die in such horrific manner."
Shelbourne Park is one of the worst tracks in Ireland for dog injuries and deaths. At least 217 greyhounds have suffered injuries there and 54 died or were killed by a track vet over the past seven years alone, sickening Greyhound Racing Ireland statistics show.
Among the victims were a greyhound who collapsed and died in December 2020 after suffering a "haemorrhage into the abdomen from a rupture of the aorta", a greyhound who died of a heart attack after a race in August 2019 and another who was carried away bleeding with a leg bone "popped out".
At tracks around Ireland in the same seven year period, at least 2,315 greyhounds suffered injuries and 788 died or were killed. The Irish Greyhound Board figures are based on "reported" injuries and deaths, suggesting that the actual number could be even higher. They do not include the greyhounds injured at tracks and later killed elsewhere, or the thousands of greyhounds who are killed every year because they are not fast enough to win races.
Previously at Shelbourne Park, Gardaí investigated two assaults which occurred during a protest in July 2019. The Irish Independent reported at the time that “a garda spokesperson said they are investigating allegations that a woman in her 30s was assaulted by a man at the greyhound stadium. They are also looking into an alleged assault on a man in his 50s.”
ACTION ALERT
Don't go greyhound racing.
Join us in demanding an end to the government's massive grants that are keeping cruel greyhound racing afloat. Greyhound Racing Ireland has received more than a quarter of a billion euros of taxpayers' money since 2001, including €19.2 million for 2021. Contact the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Finance Minister now.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin
Leader, Fianna Fail
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie
Phone: 021-432 0088
Leinster House: 01-618 3000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar
Leader, Fine Gael
Telephone: 01-619 4020
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@LeoVaradkar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar
Paschal Donohoe TD
Minister for Finance
Email: paschal.donohoe@oireachtas.ie; minister@finance.gov.ie
Phone: +353 (0)1 604 5626
Leave a comment on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaschalDonohoe/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Paschald
Please sign and share the 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
INJURIES AND DEATHS AT SHELBOURNE PARK
2021 (Jan to June): 21 injuries, 7 deaths
2020: 18 injuries, 4 deaths (3 destroyed, 1 fatality)
2019: 32 injuries, 7 deaths
2018: 41 injuries, 12 deaths
2017: 21 injuries, 10 deaths
2016: 51 injuries, 7 deaths
2015: 33 injuries, 7 deaths
REPORTED GREYHOUND INJURIES AND DEATHS AT IRISH TRACKS
2021 (Jan to June): 169 injuries. 73 deaths (71 destroyed by vets + 2 fatalities)
2020: 255 injuries. 90 deaths (88 destroyed by vets + 2 fatalities)
2019: 332 injuries. 119 deaths
2018: 353 injuries. 121 deaths
2017: 357 injuries. 124 deaths
2016: 427 injuries. 139 deaths
2015: 422 injuries. 122 deaths
SEE ALSO
Gardai investigating alleged assaults on man and woman during animal rights protest at Shelbourne Park
https://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/irish-news/gardai-investigating-alleged-assaults-on-man-and-woman-during-animal-rights-protest-at-shelbourne-park-38331866.html
Fatally Injured: Death of greyhound at Shelbourne Park stadium confirmed
https://www.facebook.com/banbloodsports/posts/4321676284614563
Greyhound injuries and deaths at Shelbourne Park https://banbloodsports.wordpress.com/2019/02/09/greyhound-injuries-and-deaths-at-shelbourne-park/