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A greyhound trainer has been fined £500 after the Greyhound Board of Great Britain's Disciplinary Committee ruled that he administered "an excessive amount of foodstuffs [to a greyhound] that could affect the performance and/or well-being of the greyhound".
According to a report in the GBGB's latest "Calendar" publication, "professional Trainer Mr Ken Bowman was found in breach of Rules 49 (iv), 174 (i)(a) and 152(i) and (ii) in that he administered a substance, namely an excessive amount of foodstuffs, that could affect the performance and/or well-being of the greyhound Pacific Captain and did not use his best endeavours to ensure that the performance of the greyhound Pacific Captain in a race was to the satisfaction of the local stewards and/or the Greyhound Regulatory Board." https://gbgb-prod-assets.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/09123735/Calendar-9th-June-2023-Vol-15-No-12-2-1.pdf#page=11
A 16 May 2023 Disciplinary Committee meeting heard that Pacific Captain "performed badly and finished last" in a race at Doncaster Stadium on 4 December 2022. The dog "had left the traps slowly and got slower in the course of the race".
Trainer Bowman accepted that the performance had been “terrible”.
After the race, the greyhound was brought to the kennel area where he was seen vomiting on the floor.
Bowman "came into the kennel area with a shovel, attempting to clean up the vomit". He was stopped by the paddock stewards. The vomit was bagged, weighed and found to be 0.3 Kg.
Later in the race meeting, "a large quantity (1 Kg) of vomit" was discovered in the kennel where Pacific Captain was kennelled.
Some time after that, a paddock steward looked into Pacific Captain’s kennel and found 0.3 Kg more vomit, bringing the total weight of vomit to 1.6 Kg.
The disciplinary meeting heard that "the dog was then examined by the duty track vet [who] found the vomit to consist of partially digested food".
She noted that the dog was "lethargic, with a low head carriage" and tests showed mild to medium dehydration, with no apparent abdominal pain.
The vet was unable to take the dog’s temperature because there was no thermometer in the vet’s room.
Vomit and urine samples tested negative for prohibited substances.
At an earlier local inquiry on 25 January 2023, Mr Bowman "said that he had fed Pacific Captain a bowl full of Red Mills dry food soaked in water at 12.30pm the day before the race where it had vomited".
He went on to say that the greyhound "never vomited before" and that when he saw the amount the dog had vomited after the race, he could not believe it. He told the inquiry that the dog had not been fed that amount of food the day before the race and had been fed nothing on race day.
He claimed that the dog had won five races in a row prior to that date but it was noted that there were actually just three consecutive race wins.
"Mr Bowman could not explain what had made the greyhound unwell, perform so badly or how it was able to vomit such a large quantity of partially digested food some 24 hours after it had last been fed," the disciplinary committee report outlines, adding "the Committee considered there was no real doubt how Pacific Captain had been able to vomit such a large amount of partially digested food - it had been fed to the greyhound the day before or on the day of the race. It must have been fed to the greyhound by Mr Bowman or with his connivance. It was undoubtedly the reason for the greyhound’s 'terrible' performance in the race. The inference was inescapable that it had been fed to the greyhound with the intention of impeding its performance in the race."
Bowman was found to be in breach of Rules 49(iv), 174(i)(a) and 152(ii) and Rule 152(i). The breaches were described as "serious breaches involving dishonest conduct that was seriously prejudicial to the integrity, proper conduct and reputation of greyhound racing."
The Committee ordered that he "receive a severe reprimand and pay a fine of £500".
Before being exported to England, Pacific Captain was used in races at Derry, Drumbo Park and Dundalk tracks.
ACTION ALERT
Don’t attend greyhound races or fundraisers/hen parties/office parties held at greyhound tracks.
Join us in demanding an end to the Irish Government’s massive grants to greyhound racing – more than a quarter of a billion euros handed over since 2001, including €19.2 million for 2021, €17.6 million for 2022 and €18.2 million for 2023. Contact the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Finance Minister now.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD
Telephone: +353 (0)1-704 3630 OR +353 (0)1-640 3133
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
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Tanaiste Micheál Martin TD
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Michael McGrath TD
Minister for Finance
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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
Urge the leaders of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, the Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour to stop the funding and back a ban on cruel greyhound racing
Micheál Martin TD
Leader, Fianna Fail
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Phone: 021-432 0088
Leinster House: 01–618 3000
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Leo Varadkar TD
Leader, Fine Gael
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Eamon Ryan TD
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Mary Lou McDonald TD
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Ivana Bacik TD
Leader, The Labour Party
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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
Watch RTE’s award-winning “Greyhounds Running For Their Lives” documentary
https://youtu.be/ZYTb2qBjlMM