Clonea Camogie Club is again being urged to show compassion and stop fundraising at a greyhound track where dogs suffer and die.
The Waterford girls’ club organised a benefit night this week at Clonmel stadium - a track where in the past eight years, 121 greyhounds suffered injuries and 42 were killed.
Among the victims were 24 greyhounds who were injured and 9 who died there last year - the highest number of deaths at the Tipperary track since records began in 2014.
Eight of the greyhounds were killed by a track vet and the ninth died with a “fatal spinal injury”.
During a 2018 race, a 1-year-old greyhound suffered a heart attack and died. The greyhound, named Darty Talk could be seen collapsing at the finishing line and falling head-first to the ground https://youtu.be/EAX_ZeVgvIA?t=35s
What a shame that Clonea Camogie Club considers it appropriate to organise fundraisers for a children’s sports club at a gambling venue where animals are injured and killed. Youngsters are being encouraged to attend, with a track notice stating “children [under] 14 have free racing admission once accompanied by an adult”.
The Clonea Camogie Club committee has ignored previous appeals to stop fundraising at the track. It held a “night at the dogs” there in 2019 - AFTER the shocking RTE documentary “Greyhounds running for their lives” exposed the fact that thousands of greyhounds are killed behind the scenes every year because they are not fast enough to win races.
Fundraisers are a source of income for tracks - they take a significant commission on ticket sales and profit from gambling and food and drink sales on the night.
Clonea Camogie Club should reject this nasty activity and side with the majority who want the government to stop giving millions of euros to racing and to redirect the money to the many sports clubs, health/environmental groups, schools and animal rescue centres that are crying out for funds. Since 2001, more than €309 million of taxpayers’ money has been handed over to Greyhound Racing Ireland, including €16.8 million for 2020, €19.2 million for 2021 and €17.6 million for 2022.
The Camogie Association of Ireland is being urged to intervene. In an email to the body, ICABS said it was inappropriate for a camogie club to attract children to a gambling venue where they may see dogs falling, breaking their legs or necks and crying out in agony before being removed and killed.
ACTION ALERT
Join us in appealing to Clonea Camogie Club to stop fundraising at Clonmel greyhound track.
Email: secretary.clonea.waterford@camogie.ie
Send a copy to The Camogie Association of Ireland
Sinéad McNulty
Ard Stiúrthóir
The Camogie Association
Email: sinead.mcnulty@camogie.ie; info@camogie.ie