Sickening new revelations, reported by the Sunday Business Post, show that the Irish Greyhound Board was aware that injured greyhounds were forced to run in races “in order to fill the race card”. As highlighted in the shocking RTE Investigates programme last Wednesday, the Irish Greyhound Board was also aware that around 6,000 greyhounds are killed every year because they’re not fast enough to win races. It’s time for all companies to end their sponsorships and for the government to stop the millions of euros in state funding that is keeping this despicable industry alive.
Read more in Aaron Rogan’s Sunday Business Post article...
Secret report: Board knew injured greyhounds forced to race
Sunday Business Post, June 30, 2019
By Aaron Rogan
The Irish Greyhound Board (IGB) is aware that injured dogs are being forced to run in races, a secret report obtained by The Sunday Business Post shows.
The revelation will increase concern about animal welfare in the sport after it was reported last week that the IGB knows up to 6,000 greyhounds are being killed each year because they are not fast enough. RTÉ Investigates obtained a confidential business-analysis report prepared for the board by consultants Preferred Results.
It said an estimated 5,987 greyhounds, available to race, were culled each year.
The reasons for the cull were broken down as: “those who failed to produce qualifying times” (2,673); “failure to produce desired entry-level times” (1,989) and an “unacceptable decline in performance” (1,326).
A separate report, obtained by this newspaper, signed off on by IGB head of regulation Pat Herbert into allegations that a race on May 21, 2017 was fixed, found that dogs were run despite being injured in order to fill the race card.
The report was never published by the IGB and its release was refused following a Freedom of Information request. This newspaper obtained a copy from a concerned source in the industry.
It found that while a gamble was orchestrated in order to win a large number of bets in the 2017 race, no illegal activity took place.
However, details in the report showed oversight appeared to be lacking in the sport.
A Paddy Power employee reported that a “major gamble” had taken place on the 2017 race and asked for the dogs to be tested, concerned there had been an “alleged scam”. The dogs had already left the track despite regulations stating that they must remain for a period after the race in case a test is needed.
Some breeders and trainers have accused the IGB of “covering up” injuries and changing rules to support the running of injured dogs so they can have drugs in their system.
Some trainers have said the IGB is unique in applying a morphine threshold which allows some of the drug to be in the system of a competing animal.
Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill, who was nominated by the Irish Greyhound Owners and Breeders Federation, raised the issue in the Seanad last year.
“Imagine giving morphine to a greyhound, which is already suffering because it is injured, to get it around the track . . . It is extreme cruelty, but it is happening right, left and centre in Ireland.”
A IGB spokesman said a number of measures had been taken in recent years to improve the safety of dogs.
https://www.businesspost.ie/news/secret-report-board-knew-injured-greyhounds-forced-race-447167
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ICABS ACTION ALERT
Demand an immediate end to all state funding to the cruel greyhound industry, in which 6,000 dogs are killed every year because they're not fast enough to win.
Since 2001, the Irish Government has paid out around a quarter of a billion euros of taxpayers' money to greyhound racing, including €16.8 million for 2019. Following the shocking RTE Investigates revelations about cruelty and killing, it is time for these grants to be finally ended. Not a single cent more of public funds should end up in this vile, dog killing industry.
Sign our petition and contact all TDs now
https://www.change.org/p/irish-government-stop-giving-millions-of-euro-to-cruel-greyhound-industry
WATCH RTE Investigates: Greyhounds Running for Their Lives
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYTb2qBjlMM
Email “I support an end to all state funding to the cruel greyhound industry” to all Fine Gael TDs
maria.bailey@oireachtas.ie; sean.barrett@oireachtas.ie; pat.breen@oireachtas.ie; colm.brophy@oireachtas.ie; richard.bruton@oireachtas.ie; peter.burke@oireachtas.ie; catherine.byrne@oireachtas.ie; Ciaran.Cannon@oireachtas.ie; joe.carey@oireachtas.ie; corcorankennedy@eircom.net; Simon.Coveney@oireachtas.ie; michael.creed@oireachtas.ie; michael.darcy@oireachtas.ie; Jim.Daly@oireachtas.ie; john.deasy@oireachtas.ie; Pat.Deering@oireachtas.ie; Regina.Doherty@oireachtas.ie; Paschal.Donohoe@oireachtas.ie; andrew.doyle@oireachtas.ie; bernard.durkan@oireachtas.ie; damien.english@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Farrell@oireachtas.ie; frances.fitzgerald@oir.ie; peterm.fitzpatrick@oireachtas.ie; charles.flanagan@oireachtas.ie; Brendan.Griffin@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Harris@oireachtas.ie; Martin.Heydon@oireachtas.ie; Heather.Humphreys@oireachtas.ie; paul.kehoe@oireachtas.ie; enda.kenny@oireachtas.ie; Sean.Kyne@oireachtas.ie; josepha.madigan@oireachtas.ie; helen.mcentee@oireachtas.ie; joe.mchugh@oireachtas.ie; Tony.McLoughlin@oireachtas.ie; Mary.MitchellOConnor@oireachtas.ie; Dara.Murphy@oireachtas.ie; Eoghan.Murphy@oireachtas.ie; hildegarde.naughton@oireachtas.ie; tom.neville@limerick.ie; michael.noonan@oireachtas.ie; kate.oconnell@oireachtas.ie; Patrick.O'Donovan@oireachtas.ie; fergus.odowd@oireachtas.ie; JohnPaul.Phelan@oireachtas.ie; michael.ring@oireachtas.ie; noel@noelrock.ie; david.stanton@oir.ie; leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie
Email “I support an end to all state funding to the cruel greyhound industry” to all Fianna Fáil TDs
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Visit the Oireachtas website for more telephone numbers and other contact details for TDs
https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/tds/?term=/ie/oireachtas/house/dail/32