Sinn Fein Senator Chris Andrews has condemned surgical artificial insemination of greyhounds as “barbaric and disgusting” and renewed calls for a ban on the practice.

Speaking in Seanad Eireann on 19 June 2025, Senator Andrews stated: “I have previously raised the barbaric practice of surgical artificial insemination of greyhounds. Senator O'Loughlin was just as outraged and disgusted by it as everybody is. This is a where the greyhound is sliced open, the uterus is removed and the semen is inserted. The greyhound is then sewn back up and expected to carry the pups through pregnancy until their delivery, all the time trying to recover from that surgery.”

Senator Andrews pointed out that the government carried out a public consultation into surgical AI and that the consultation results indicated that surgical artificial insemination should be prohibited in all dogs, including greyhounds.

“The Minister has said that they will look at the proposed legislation when the report is published,” Senator Andrews stated. “When will the report be published and when will surgical artificial insemination be banned? It is a barbaric and disgusting practice. Delaying this ban is, in effect, giving the green light for surgical artificial insemination to continue. It is really important that the consultation is published and surgical insemination is banned as a matter of urgency.”

Surgical AI on dogs is already against the law in the UK, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands.

It has been shamefully performed hundreds of times on greyhounds in Ireland since 2019 alone – a reminder that the pursuit of prize-money comes before the welfare of dogs. Not even cutting into the bodies of greyhounds in a bid to produce winning litters is off-limits in the cruel greyhound "industry".

ACTION ALERT

Agriculture Minister Martin Heydon must urgently act to ban this painful & highly invasive procedure. Contact the Minister today to demand an urgent ban on surgical AI on all dogs, including greyhounds.

Martin Heydon TD
Minister for Agriculture
Tel: 01-618 3017
Email: minister@agriculture.gov.ie; martin.heydon@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/martinheydonfg
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/martinheydonfg

SEE ALSO

Vets MUST NOT perform painful surgical artificial insemination on (most) dogs
https://banbloodsports.wordpress.com/2024/05/15/vets-must-not-perform-painful-surgical-artificial-insemination-on-most-dogs/

Pete the Vet: Greyhounds must not be excluded from surgical AI ban
https://banbloodsports.wordpress.com/2023/05/12/pete-the-vet-greyhounds-must-not-be-excluded-from-surgical-ai-ban/

Ban on surgical AI in dogs ‘will be implemented’
https://banbloodsports.wordpress.com/2023/04/14/ban-on-surgical-ai-in-dogs-will-be-implemented/

Watch RTE’s award-winning “Greyhounds Running For Their Lives” documentary
https://youtu.be/ZYTb2qBjlMM