The Irish Council Against Blood Sports is disgusted to learn that Virgin Media is planning to televise greyhound racing next month.

According to a notice on the Irish Greyhound Breeders Federation website, “the Derby semi-finals and final will be screened on Virgin Media”, with coverage from Shelbourne Park stadium presented by ex-bookie/Fine Gael Minister/Tonight Show host Ivan Yates. The derby is sponsored by Boylesports, a company which also shamefully sponsors cruel hare coursing.

Earlier this year, Virgin Media was urged not to contemplate broadcasting greyhound racing and told that “the public wants to see greyhound racing ended and not given a platform on national television.”

In an appeal to the station, we referred to RTE's award-winning "Greyhounds Running for Their Lives" documentary which exposed the horrors of greyhound racing, including the behind-the-scenes killing every year of around 6,000 greyhounds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYTb2qBjlMM

We highlighted that there is growing public opposition to greyhound racing, plummeting attendance at races and ongoing protests outside tracks, including at Shelbourne Park stadium.

“Greyhounds suffer and die at tracks and Shelbourne Park is one of the worst,” we stated. “At least 238 greyhounds suffered injuries there and 62 died or were killed by a track vet over the past seven years alone, sickening Greyhound Racing Ireland statistics show. Among the victims are a greyhound who died at the track in September 2021 (on the evening of the BoyleSports Irish Derby) after suffering a ‘severe fracture of the neck’, another who collapsed and died in December 2020 with a “haemorrhage into the abdomen from a rupture of the aorta”, a greyhound who died of a heart attack after a race and another who was carried away bleeding with a leg bone popped out.”

Responding to our appeal, Virgin Media TV Managing Director Paul Farrell stated: “I note your concerns and objections to greyhound racing as outlined in your recent email. I also note many of the concerns have been taken on board by the industry and incorporated into the recent code of practice under their General Welfare Principles. Greyhound racing is a publicly funded activity that is funded via the public purse on an annual basis and therefore I would respectfully suggest your concerns would be best directed to the relevant public representatives and bodies.“

“Virgin Media Television is a commercial broadcaster, and we rely totally on commercial revenues to support our business and our employees, as such we do not see it as our role to pre-judge or limit the range and choice of content we provide across our channels,” he added.

At tracks around Ireland since 2014, at least 2,853 greyhounds suffered injuries and 971 died or were killed. That includes 351 injuries and 154 deaths last year - the highest annual number of deaths at tracks since records began.

ACTION ALERT

Join us in urging Virgin Media to scrap plans to broadcast the Greyhound Racing Derby semi-finals and final in September.

Paul Farrell,
Managing Director, Virgin Media Television

Tony Hanway
CEO, Virgin Media Ireland

Email: paul.farrell@virginmedia.ie; Tony.Hanway@virginmedia.ie

Telephone Virgin Media: +353 (0)1 245 8000