Gone To The Dogs

Latest press release from Cllr Jennifer Whitmore, issued on Friday, June 28th 2019…

Social Democrats Cllr. Jennifer Whitmore has this week called for the suspension of state funding to the Irish Greyhound Board following RTÉ’s Investigates programme which revealed a range of “barbaric and cruel practices within the sector” according to the Greystones Councillor.

The RTÉ programme revealed dogs being culled every year because they are considered superfluous to industry’s needs while other Greyhound populations are subjected to doping and illegal exporting to China where industry practices have also been questioned.

Speaking on the issue Cllr. Whitmore said “firstly the cruelty these animals face must not be tolerated which the Government needs to immediately address in order to prevent these animals from being exploited in the worst way possible for industry needs into the future. While of course there are many breeders, trainers, and good people who care about the animals, the reality is they are operating within an industry that clearly has serious issues with animal welfare practices.”

“More than 6,000 greyhounds are killed each year simply for being too slow while the Irish Greyhound Board continues to breed 1,000% more puppies than are needed. I question why the Department has not stepped in before RTE investigated as the Report into malpractice was available since 2017. I would urge the Department to address these animal rights as a matter of priority and question why these practices were not curtailed in light of the Greyhound Racing Act 2019 being passed last month.

“Secondly is the issue that the State is complicit here so long as it provides the Irish Greyhound Board with significant funding each year to the tune of €16m and almost €250million since 2001. This funding should be suspended immediately as was done when governance issues were raised with the FAI. It’s clear that the Irish Greyhound Board are not only failing on animal rights issues but are failing to manage the fringe elements of the industry such as the underground market and illegal exporting of animals to other countries. Our public bodies and the agencies the Government funds with taxpayers’ money must be held to the highest level of scrutiny and standards.

“I hope that those responsible will be brought to account as soon as possible so that these cruel practices can be reversed as a matter of urgency for the sake of these and other animals” concluded Whitmore.