Plea to save Irish greyhounds as Macau track closes Five dogs traced but four missing after closure of Macau racetrack puts 600 canines in jeopardy The Sunday Times, July 29 2018 Nine Irish greyhounds are at the centre of an international rescue effort after the closure of Macau’s only dog racetrack, the Canidrome Club. Animal welfare groups in Macau, a former Portuguese colony in China’s Pearl River Delta, have taken possession of five Irish greyhounds, but another four have gone missing after the closure of the club, a greyhound-racing stadium in the world’s largest gambling hub. Angela Leong, the owner of the Yat Yuen company that operated the now- defunct stadium, last week agreed to allow Anima, an animal welfare group, to oversee a project to rehome 600 greyhounds that raced at the stadium. Marion Fitzgibbon, a director of Limerick Animal Welfare, said that she was making arrangements with Anima to have the Irish dogs repatriated from Macau. She said she feared the dogs that had gone missing might have already been sold to illegal racing tracks in China, auctioned to breeders or perhaps sold for their meat. “I don’t know whether the people on the ground out there will be able to find out what became of the missing greyhounds. They could be anywhere at this stage. When people heard the Canidrome was closing, they simply took the dogs that looked the most healthy and left the sick and injured ones behind. I’ve seen this time and time again when large numbers of unwanted animals are effectively abandoned or no longer wanted,” she added. Fitzgibbon said the standard of welfare at the Canidrome was horrific. She pointed to research by Grey2K USA Worldwide, an American animal welfare organisation that runs greyhound rescue projects. It found that 383 dogs were put down in Macau in 2010. The dogs were officially “retired” as a result of accidents and injuries sustained on the racetrack. Young, healthy dogs were also reportedly killed if they fell ill or failed to come in the top three in five races, although this was denied by the Canidrome. “If we do get these dogs back, they will certainly have medical issues and may need treatment and rehabilitation for a long time,” said Fitzgibbon. “Greyhound racing should really be banned. The taxpayer is being forced to subsidise an industry that involves horrendous cruelty to the animals.” Large numbers of Irish greyhounds were discreetly exported to Macau to supply a demand for new dogs to race at the Canidrome, Asia’s only legal greyhound track. The sales mainly involved dogs of little or no value that were unsuitable for Irish or British tracks. Some of the dogs had their unique identification tattoos altered to disguise their origins on arrival in Macau. Fitzgibbon said most of the dogs had last raced in Ireland and Britain in or around 2015, according to official reports published by the racing authorities. Irish greyhound breeders and trainers started exporting racing dogs to Macau in 2014 after the Irish Greyhound Board was denied permission from the Department of Agriculture to start supplying greyhounds to China in 2011. The department blocked the proposal after intensive campaigning by animal welfare groups and celebrities, including the comedian Ricky Gervais. It said it had received no assurance as to what would happen to Irish dogs once they retired from racing. The department was unable to stop private individuals agreeing deals and exporting greyhounds to Macau, however. Most of Macau’s greyhounds were bred in Australia, which officially banned exports in 2013. The greyhound board said last week it was aware of unconfirmed reports on social media of Irish greyhounds being found in Macau. “We have been investigating the same but have yet to confirm that any Irish greyhounds are involved. The board is not questioning the claims made but hasn’t had verification of any Irish greyhounds,” said a spokesman. “Some of the greyhounds mentioned last raced in the UK. The board does not have any records of greyhound exports, but has called for greater traceability in the Greyhound Industry Bill 2018.” The board said it was opposed to greyhound exports to countries that did not meet Ireland’s welfare standards. It added that it would welcome legislation in this area. John Mooney https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/ireland/plea-to-save-irish-greyhounds-as-macau-track-closes-sd5zqd2rq ---------------------------------- ICABS ACTION ALERT Urge Minister Michael Creed and the Department of Agriculture to fund the repatriation of the Irish greyhounds shamefully exported to Macau. Michael Creed TD Minister for Agriculture Department of Agriculture Kildare Street, Dublin 2. Email: michael.creed@oir.ie Tel: +353 (0)1-607 2000 or LoCall 1890-200510. Leave a comment on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michaelcreedtd Tweet to: @creedcnw @agriculture_ie