Petition updateIrish Government: Stop Giving Millions of Euro to Cruel Greyhound Racing

Cross-party support for a ban on surgical insemination - when will Minister Heydon act?

Irish Council Against Blood SportsMullingar, Ireland

Sep 23, 2026

There is cross-party support for a ban on surgical artificial insemination of greyhounds. So why is the Minister for Agriculture not acting to bring this obscene practice to an end?

Politicians from Solidarity-People Before Profit, Sinn Fein, Social Democrats, Green Party, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael have expressed support for a ban.

Surgical insemination involves anaesthetising a female dog, making an incision in her abdomen and lifting out her uterus before semen is injected into it with a needle. The uterus is then put back and the surgery area stitched closed. Surgical AI on dogs is already against the law in the UK, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands.

Surgical artificial insemination has shamefully been 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 has been off-limits in the cruel greyhound "industry".

In April 2023, the office of the then Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue confirmed to the Irish Council Against Blood Sports that a ban on surgical artificial insemination “will be implemented”.

In a 19 February 2026 Dail Question, Paul Murphy TD (Solidarity-People Before Profit) asked “when a ban on surgical artificial insemination of greyhounds will commence”.

Responding to Deputy Murphy, the Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon stated: “The Veterinary Council of Ireland announced in April 2024 that it had updated its Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinary Practitioners to prohibit veterinarians from carrying out surgical artificial insemination in dogs due to ethical and welfare considerations. However, this new prohibition does not apply to greyhounds, as the practice is provided for in legislation under the Artificial Insemination of Greyhound Regulations 2005. The report of the Working Group on Control of Dogs, which was approved by Government in March 2023, and has been published online at gov.ie. It includes a recommendation that surgical artificial insemination in canines be prohibited, where the word canine encompasses all breeds of dogs. In 2024, my Department held a public consultation on whether the practice of carrying out surgical artificial insemination in greyhounds should be banned or not and the results of the public consultation are now available at gov.ie. My Department is closely examining this issue and will be providing advice on an appropriate course of action in the near future.”

The public consultation on surgical artificial insemination received 606 submissions from members of the public, animal welfare charities, veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses, greyhound rescue dog owners, greyhound and animal rights advocacy groups, educational bodies and community groups. 99% of respondents expressed support for a ban.

ACTION ALERT

Join us in urging Minister Martin Heydon to immediately ban surgical artificial insemination.

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

Don’t go greyhound racing or attend events at greyhound tracks.

Urge the leaders of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Sinn Fein to end the state funding that is keeping the dying greyhound industry afloat.

Micheál Martin TD
Leader, Fianna Fail
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Tel: 01 619 4000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
X: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD

Simon Harris TD
Leader, Fine Gael
Telephone: 01 281 3727
Email: simon.harris@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
X: http://www.twitter.com/SimonHarrisTD
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DeputySimonHarris

Mary Lou McDonald TD
Leader, Sinn Fein
Tel: (01) 727 7102
Email: marylou.mcdonald@oireachtas.ie
X: https://twitter.com/MaryLouMcDonald
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MaryLouMcDonaldTD

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