From: South West Animal Protection <southwestanimalprotection@yahoo.co.uk> Date: 16 April 2012 08:45 Subject: HEARTBREAKING HEINOUS ACT TO INNOCENT GREYHOUNDS IN IRELAND-several dead greyhounds found in a quarry pit in Ireland- please take action now- worldwide response needed! To: PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY TO ALL YOUR GROUPS AND CONTACTS IN UK NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL INCLUDING ALL YOUR 'IRISH' CONTACTS AND ALL ANTI-GREYHOUND RACING CAMPAIGNERS WORLDWIDE AND ALL WEBSITES,TWITTER, MYSPACE AND FACEBOOK FOR MAXIMUM PUBLICITY HEARTBREAKING HEINOUS ACT TO INNOCENT GREYHOUNDS IN IRELAND Worldwide response needed! Several dead greyhounds found in a quarry pit in Ireland- please take action now! Please read below the recent tragic article and also press release from 'GRAI' (Greyhound Rescue Association of Ireland). Photos of these poor, darling dogs are on a link below but please be warned they are very graphic and distressing! Once you have read the important info below we are now asking all our national and international suporters to take immediate action by politely writing to- 1- Barry Coleman head of welfare at the Irish Greyhound Board (IGB) at- Barry.Coleman@igb.ie 2- Also please contact Irish Police (Gardai) at - crime_prevention@garda.ie - (please note there is an underscore in this email address. Please urge the IGB and the Gardai to investigate this matter fully and bring those that are guilty to maximum justice ie prison. These poor dogs must have suffered terribly and this adverse cruelty cannot be tolerated. We need thousands of polite emails from all over the world to hit these in boxes demanding justice now, so every letter counts from around the world by those that care and want to make a difference. Many thanks for your support for those who have no voice! Greyhound Crusaders/SWAP team UK Greyhound Rescue Association of Ireland (GRAI) PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Use (10/04/2012) Racing Greyhounds Killed and Dumped in Mass Grave A grim discovery was made over the weekend when a walker came across a mass grave of former racing greyhounds. The bodies in various stages of decomposition were discovered in the open and unburied, at a former quarry about 40 kilometres south east of Limerick. An initial examination of the site by Limerick Animal Welfare has revealed the bodies of seven or eight dogs, all greyhounds. However as the site is extremely overgrown further bodies may yet be discovered in the thick undergrowth. It appears that the site has been used on more than one occasion to kill and dump the bodies of greyhounds. Some of the bodies are relatively recent, while others are in more advanced stages of decay. Marion Fitzgibbon spokesperson for The Greyhound Rescue Association of Ireland (GRAI) who has visited the site said, “Two greyhounds, a black bitch and a fawn dog were killed fairly recently as their bodies are not decomposed. They both appear to have been killed by an impact to the head. There are other greyhound bodies in the quarry, Limerick Animal Welfare estimates another seven or eight but the terrain is very overgrown and a proper search may reveal more.” Marion continued, “We know these dogs are racing greyhounds, as each animal is required to have a unique identifying tattoo in each ear. Some of the tattoos are still legible to the naked eye. This information has been passed to Limerick County Council and the Gardai have also been informed.” GRAI is calling on the Irish Greyhound Board, the Bord na gCon, to thoroughly investigate and report on the circumstances that led to these dogs being killed and dumped in this way. The GRAI spokeswoman went on, “Bodies being left to rot in the open, as well as being a public health hazard, also portrays the Irish Greyhound Racing Industry in a very poor light and does not live up to the “World Class Welfare Standards” they aim to achieve for greyhounds.. We are certain they will be as shocked as we are upon learning of this killing pit. We are sure that every respectable greyhound owner will welcome firm action being taken against all those involved in the killing of these dogs and who has broken the law. “ However GRAI believes this to be only the tip of the iceberg. Last year there were 3,271 registered greyhound litters in Ireland. A conservative average of seven pups per litter makes 22,904 dogs, however less than 16,000 greyhounds were registered that year to race at 12 months old. Taking into account the number of greyhounds that retire each year due to age or injury GRAI estimate between 8,000 to 10,000 greyhounds disappear every year. Marion Fitzgibbon said, “These dogs did not need to die. Greyhounds can make faithful, gentle and loving family pets. They are great with children and unlike many other breeds only need around 30 minutes walk per day. Even when these dogs are unable to race anymore usually at the young age of 3-4 years old, they can still live long and happy lives. Over 6,000 greyhounds are homed as pets every year in the UK and we would like to see greyhounds being homed as pets in Ireland'. Notes for Editor Pictures of the site including the bodies are available GRAI was established in February 2011. It brings together 13 welfare organisations based in Ireland who actively rescue and re-home former racing greyhounds GRAI is calling on the Bord nag Con to; · Investigate whether offences have been committed under the Welfare of Greyhounds Act Section 10 and if so to take strong action against the guilty party to serve as a deterrent to others. · Engage an independent vet and carry out post mortems on the two greyhound cadavers to ascertain the cause of death with a view to identifying and prosecuting the guilty party should the post mortem prove that the dogs were not killed humanely. · Introduce a process whereby all trainers and owners are accountable for their greyhounds on retirement and make every effort to place them in loving homes as pets. · Carry out a thorough search and investigation of the quarry to establish how many greyhounds have been killed and dumped there. · GRAI calls upon Limerick County Council to investigate whether any offences have been committed under environmental legislation and to take appropriate action. For Information The Welfare of Greyhounds Act 2011 Under section 10 subsections 1-3 of the Act greyhound owners are responsible for transferring the details of greyhounds they have sold on or handed over. If they fail to do so then have committed an offence. For more information and interviews please contact: Marion Fitzgibbon: Tel: 061 336740 Bord na gCon says it knows owners of shot greyhounds The Irish Times - Thursday, April 12, 2012 The Irish Greyhound Board has confirmed it has identified the owners of a number of greyhounds, whose decomposing carcasses were found dumped in a disused quarry at Ballyagran, west Limerick, over the Easter weekend. It is believed the dogs were shot in the head and then discarded in contravention of the recently introduced Greyhound Welfare Bill. Bord na gCon said it was “working with gardaí to bring the offenders to justice” and “condemned” such actions. It added that identification markings on some of the dogs “were still intact” and “the owners of same has already been identified and will now be questioned”. Newcastle West gardaí are investigating and are due to question the owners identified. *** WARNING – Graphic photos at this link. ******* Link to photos- http://aega.homestead.com/greys-in-pit-ireland.html?_=1334067131862
Being involved with greyhound welfare. I had already seen them on a certain social place I can't mention on here. Unfortunatly that is just the tip of the iceberg. The public just see the shiny dogs running round a track. They don't see what happens to the 10's of thousands of greyhounds bred that don't make the track, they don't see the intense cruelty many suffer when they stop winning. They don't see what happens to many of the injured ones on the track, they don't see what happens to those that many many owners and trainers won't pay money on for euthanasia, the greatest proportion don't end up in rescue and even the lucky ones that do have often suffered intense cruelty first. There are a few good owners and trainers out there but unfotunatly not many or narly enough.
Spot on. This "sport" really ought to be banned, but as it's all about the money, there's little chance of that, same as the Grand (HA!) National.....
Saw these a couple of weeks ago and haven't looked since, hit makes me angry and upset. Madmare is on the money though, tip of the ice berg. If you work out the number of litters to greyhounds registered to race it says it all.
Absolutely horrific Unfortunately I don't even think it's a case of the betting public being unaware of the truth behind racing, I think it's got to the point where it's a 'what I can't see can't affect me' mentality. Vile!
Unfortunately I think for those involved/support this industry is they dont care what happens to stock if it's not good enough or past its sell buy date.
