Pro-bloodsports TD Mattie McGrath has farcically claimed that “hares are taken very well care of” by the cruel coursing clubs which snatch thousands of hares from the wild and use them as live bait for dogs to chase.
Mattie McGrath is very much in the minority in his shameful support for coursing. A RED C opinion poll has confirmed that a 77% majority want the government to ban the bloodsport, with just 9 per cent wanting it to continue.
Among the victims of coursing last season was a hare who suffered a broken back and another who died with a spinal injury.
ACTION ALERT
If you are in the Tipperary constituency, urge Mattie McGrath to stop defending animal cruelty.
There are renewed calls for a ban on cruel hare coursing after newly released documents show that a hare suffered a SPINAL INJURY and died at a coursing meeting in County Kerry.
NPWS documents show that a hare suffered a BROKEN BACK during a coursing meeting in County Laois
A coursing club vet has outrageously described a dead hare as being “IN PERFECT CONDITION”. The unfortunate female hare – one of 41 cruelly captured for the Borrisoleigh coursing meeting – died confined in a box after the coursing had concluded.
A 77% majority of Irish citizens want cruel hare coursing BANNED (just 9% are opposed to a ban). Join us in urging Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Sinn Féin, Labour and Aontú to respect the wishes of the majority and back a ban.
Micheál Martin Leader, Fianna Fáil
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Phone: 021-432 0088
Leinster House: 01–618 3000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd
Pro-bloodsports Fine Gael TD Brendan Griffin has asked the Minister for Agriculture about “the justification for [an unspecified] decision and if this matter will be reviewed as a matter of urgency”.
The Kerry TD’s 30th July Dail Question – directed at new Agriculture Minister Dara Calleary – related to the “greyhound industry”.
In response, Minister Calleary stated: “The question raised by the Deputy is an operational matter for Bord na gCon [Irish Greyhound Board] and therefore the question has been referred to the body for direct reply.”
The question may relate to a decision by the IGB to reduce monthly race meetings at Tralee greyhound track by nearly 20 per cent from 16 to 13 a move described by The Kerryman as “a major blow” to Kerry greyhound racing.
Tralee stadium is one of the worst in Ireland for dog injuries and deaths. 138 greyhounds suffered injuries there and 60 were killed by a track vet over the past six years alone, sickening Irish Greyhound Board statistics show.
At tracks around Ireland in the same period, 1,891 greyhounds suffered injuries and 625 were killed. These deaths are just the tip of the iceberg – thousands more greyhounds are mercilessly killed annually because they don’t make the grade.
As revealed in the award-winning “RTE Investigates: Greyhounds running for their lives” documentary last year, around 6,000 greyhounds are killed every year simply because they are not fast enough. It included shocking scenes of dogs being delivered to a knackery where they were shot in the head and dumped in a skip. One shot dog was seen writhing on the ground in agony as his merciless owner drove away. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYTb2qBjlMM
Brendan Griffin not only supports greyhound racing (he was part of a 14-man syndicate of Fine Gael TDs who owned the greyhound, Swift Starlet), he is in the minority who want cruel bloodsports to continue in Ireland.
In 2013 and 2016 he shamefully voted against a ban on hare coursing. He also voted against proposed amendments to the Animal Health and Welfare Bill which sought to outlaw some of Ireland’s worst acts of cruelty to animals – foxhunting, digging-out, terrierwork, ferreting, badger culling, fur farming and the use of animals in circuses.
Last year, he was among the TDs pushing for a suspension of hare coursing to be lifted, despite the identification of the deadly and highly contagious RHD2 virus which threatens the future of the Irish Hare species. Coursing activities increase the risk of the disease spreading.
Since 2016, he has voted in favour of €244 million in state grants to horse and greyhound racing.
ACTION ALERT
Challenge Brendan Griffin TD on his disgraceful stance on animal cruelty issues.
Catherine Martin TD
Culture and Heritage Minister
Tel: (01) 618 3018
Email: catherine.martin@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Catherinemartingreen/ The Irish Government has squandered over ONE AND A QUARTER BILLION EUROS of scarce public funds on horse and greyhound racing since 2001. It’s time for this to stop.
Contact Taoiseach Micheal Martin, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar and Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe and demand an end to state funding to horse racing and greyhound racing. Tell them to redirect the funds to the many deserving charities, health/homeless/environmental groups, sports clubs, animal rescue centres, etc crying out for funding.
Paschal Donohoe TD
Minister for Finance
Email: paschal.donohoe@oireachtas.ie; minister@per.gov.ie
Tel: 01 6045810
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaschalDonohoe/
Tweet to @Paschald CONTACT TDS AND URGE THEM TO OPPOSE THE FUNDING
SAMPLE LETTER
(If you have time, please write your own personal letter)
Dear Deputy,
I am writing to urge you to please oppose further funding to horse and greyhound racing.
The Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations channelled another €84 million of taxpayers’ money into the gambling activities in 2020, bringing to more than one and a quarter billion euros the amount handed over since 2001.
Much of the money given to horse racing ends up as prize money in the pockets of wealthy horse owners and trainers, while the funding for greyhound racing continues despite plummeting attendance at tracks due to shocking revelations about cruelty and killing.
If you saw the “RTE Investigates: Greyhounds running for their lives” documentary, you will understand why there should be absolutely no support given to this shameful industry. The programme revealed that around 6,000 greyhounds are killed every year simply because they are not fast enough to win. We were shown horrifying scenes of greyhounds being delivered to knackeries to be shot in the head. One dog was seen writhing on the ground in agony as his merciless owner drove away https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYTb2qBjlMM
The programme also highlighted the illegal practice of doping dogs to make them run faster or slower to influence the outcomes of races. Also shown were greyhounds with their ears chopped off or burned with acid (to remove identity tattoos before being dumped) and the hellholes that await Irish greyhounds exported to China and Pakistan.
The Irish public is shocked and disgusted at the revelations, which have sparked multiple, ongoing protests outside tracks and calls for a ban on greyhound racing.
A RED C opinion poll commissioned by the Irish Council Against Blood Sports and Greyhound Action Ireland shows that two out of every three Irish adults agree that the government should stop funding greyhound racing [66% Agree, 16% Disagree, 18% Don’t Know] Petitions urging the government to stop the funding have attracted over 400,000 signatures.
It is COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE that scarce public funds have been pumped into horse and greyhound racing. It is time for this to be stopped and for the money to be redirected to the many deserving charities, health/homeless/environmental groups, sports clubs, animal rescue centres, etc crying out for funding.
Thank you. I look forward to your positive response.
Yours sincerely,
[Name/Address] Email the letter to all Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour Party TDs (who back the grants every year).
In June 2016, Brendan Griffin was among the 114 TDs who voted against Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan’s bill which sought to ban cruel hare coursing.
In March 2013, Brendan Griffin TD voted against amendments to the Animal Health and Welfare Bill which sought to secure a ban on some of Ireland’s worst acts of cruelty to animals – foxhunting, hare coursing, digging out, terrierwork, ferreting, badger culling, fur farming and the use of animals in circuses.
In 2016, 2017 and 2018, voted in favour of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations which granted €80 million/€80 million/€84 million of taxpayers’ money to horse and greyhound racing.
According to a July 2012 Irish Examiner report, Brendan Griffin was part of a 14-man syndicate of Fine Gael TDs who “stumped up €250 each for a share in [greyhound] Swift Starlet after the 17-month-old bitch showed impressive form at recent trials.” The Irish Greyhound Board website shows that Swift Starlet was entered into 65 races between July 2012 and August 2014 and won 7. The total prize money is listed at €2,179. Her last race was at Mullingar greyhound track on 30th August 2014 when she came last.
Junior Tourism Minister Brendan Griffin said the Irish Coursing Club (ICC) has put a “compelling case”. “I want to see the department and the minister giving every consideration to the scientific facts being put forward by the ICC,” he told the Irish Independent. from Ministers clash over the ban on hare coursing, Irish Independent, October 8 2019.
Another five hotels have removed greyhound racing from their websites. A big thank you to the following hotels for responding positively after being told about the suffering and deaths of dogs in greyhound racing. If you are organising a staycation in Ireland, please consider supporting these hotels…
– Rochestown Park Hotel in Douglas, County Cork has deleted greyhound racing from a “things to do in Cork” page on its website https://www.rochestownpark.com
– The Riverside Park Hotel in Enniscorthy removed a page which presented greyhound racing as a “great night” https://www.riversideparkhotel.com/
Last month, the Fitzwilton Hotel – https://www.fitzwiltonhotel.ie/ – in Waterford was thanked for removing greyhound racing from its website. The popular 4 star hotel deleted “a night at the dogs” from a list of activities on its Group Getaways page.
The horrors of greyhound racing were exposed in the award-winning “RTE Investigates: Greyhounds Running For Their Lives” documentary which revealed that around 6,000 dogs are killed every year simply because they are not fast enough to win races https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYTb2qBjlMM At tracks around Ireland in the past six years alone, at least 1,959 greyhounds suffered injuries and 652 were killed.
Other companies that have been praised for rejecting cruel greyhound racing include Dublin Bus, Air France, Eir Sport, Lonely Planet, Tesco Ireland, Toyota Ireland, Electric Ireland, Applegreen, Groupon, Barry’s Tea, FBD Insurance, Botanica International, Hyde Irish Whiskey, Thomas Cook/Jet Tours, Galway Crystal, Wilton Shopping Centre, Le Guide Irlande, Trip101, etc.
The Irish Times is reporting today that the deadly and highly contagious RHD2 virus which has been found in hares and rabbits “is likely to allow two Green Party Ministers avoid making a highly embarrassing political decision to allow hares be captured for coursing”.
The article quotes Heritage Minister Macolm Noonan as saying that Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease should be treated at the “same level of caution for our Irish hare population as we do with Covid”.
He warned that the storage of hares for prolonged periods in coursing parks would increase the risk of the virus spreading.
The Irish Times revealed that Minister Noonan has written to the secretary general of his department outlining his concerns about RHD2.
“It’s a highly contagious, easily transmissable and fatal virus that could decimate the Irish mountain hare; a protected species under the Wildlife Acts,” he stated. “The reporting of new cases in both rabbits and hares on the island of Ireland is a cause for deep concern and should be a determining factor in the decision to issue netting licences this year.”
HELP THE HARES: Please urgently contact Green Party Ministers Malcolm Noonan (who has responsibility for the National Parks and Wildlife Service) and Catherine Martin (who has responsibility for wildlife) and urge them to REFUSE a 2020-21 hare coursing licence.
With a RED C opinion poll confirming that a 77 per cent majority of Irish citizens want hare coursing banned (with just 9 per cent disagreeing with a ban), it is now time for politicians to consign this nasty bloodsport to history. Join us in contacting all TDs and urging them to act to ensure that a ban is urgently introduced. Visit the Oireachtas website for contact details for TDs https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/tds/?term=/ie/oireachtas/house/dail/33
Urge Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tanaiste Leo Varadkar to respect the wishes of the majority and ban hare coursing and all bloodsports.
“The sky wouldn’t fall if TDs were allowed to say NO to organised animal cruelty masquerading as ‘sport.’” – Read John Fitzgerald’s Letter to the Editor in today’s Irish Examiner…
Whip system favours hare coursing
Letter to the Editor, Irish Examiner, August 3rd 2020
I agree with Deputy Neasa Hourigan’s call for a review of the whip system in Irish politics. It is draconian and anti-democratic and has had the effect of flouting the wishes of the electorate on a multitude of issues.
As an animal protection campaigner I have a particular grievance with the way it has prevented the majority view on hare coursing from being enacted into law. Twice it has worked in favour of the minority who approve of setting dogs on captive hares.
In 1993, the late Tony Gregory moved a bill to ban hare coursing. Though it commanded cross-party support, with TDs from all parties pledging to vote for it, Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, and Labour all used the whip to oppose the bill. The result was a crushing defeat for a long awaited progressive measure: 104 votes to 16. I was in the public gallery and I saw anti-coursing TDs walk with heads bowed through the little gateway to endorse a practice they abhorred. A sickening spectacle.
In 2016, another bill came before the Dail seeking a ban on hare coursing, this time proposed by Maureen O’ Sullivan TD. Again, TDs of all parties had declared their opposition to the blood sport but, when it came to a vote, the whips were cracked.
I can understand why the whip might be required to steer essential economic measures or emergency legislation through the Oireachtas, but the sky wouldn’t fall if TDs were allowed to say NO to organised animal cruelty masquerading as “sport.”
John Fitzgerald,
Callan, Co Kilkenny
URGENT ACTION ALERT
HELP THE HARES: Please urgently contact Green Party Ministers Malcolm Noonan (who has responsibility for the National Parks and Wildlife Service) and Catherine Martin (who has responsibility for wildlife) and urge them to REFUSE a 2020-21 hare coursing licence.
With a RED C opinion poll confirming that a 77 per cent majority of Irish citizens want hare coursing banned (with just 9 per cent disagreeing with a ban), it is now time for politicians to consign this nasty bloodsport to history. Join us in contacting all TDs and urging them to act to ensure that a ban is urgently introduced. Visit the Oireachtas website for contact details for TDs https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/tds/?term=/ie/oireachtas/house/dail/33
Urge Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tanaiste Leo Varadkar to respect the wishes of the majority and ban hare coursing and all bloodsports.
Join us in urging Thurles Credit Union to stop advertising at a greyhound track where dogs suffer and die. A prominent trackside ad banner for the credit union remains in place at Thurles Park stadium despite sickening revelations about cruelty and killing in greyhound racing.
At least 60 greyhounds have suffered injuries at Thurles Park and 27 were killed by a vet over the past six years alone. Among the victims was a greyhound who was destroyed after colliding with an in-field pole on 13 July 2019.
At tracks around Ireland in the same period, 1,891 greyhounds suffered injuries and 625 were killed. These deaths are just the tip of the iceberg – thousands more greyhounds are mercilessly killed annually because they don’t make the grade.
As revealed in the award-winning “RTE Investigates: Greyhounds running for their lives” documentary last year, around 6,000 greyhounds are killed every year simply because they are not fast enough. It included shocking scenes of dogs being delivered to a knackery where they were shot in the head and dumped in a skip. One shot dog was seen writhing on the ground in agony as his merciless owner drove away. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYTb2qBjlMM
ACTION ALERT
Urge Thurles Credit Union to stop advertising at Thurles Park greyhound track.
The Irish Greyhound Board’s decision to reduce racing at Tralee’s Kingdom Stadium is hurting local greyhound owners, Independent TD, Danny Healy Rae has revealed.
“The move to cut three race nights from the monthly calendar by the Irish Greyhound Board and relocate them to Cork and Limerick has hurt many dog owners and will certainly hurt business in Tralee,” the pro-bloodsports Kerry TD stated in a Dail speech on Thursday (30 July 2020).
He was referring to a decision by the IGB to reduce monthly race meetings by nearly 20 per cent from 16 to 13 in a move described by The Kerryman as “a major blow” to Kerry greyhound racing.
While Healy Rae concerned himself with hurt to dog owners and businesses, there was no mention of the many greyhounds who are hurt and killed at Tralee stadium. 138 greyhounds suffered injuries there and 60 were killed by a track vet over the past six years alone, sickening Irish Greyhound Board statistics show.
At tracks around Ireland in the same period, 1,891 greyhounds suffered injuries and 625 were killed. These deaths are just the tip of the iceberg – thousands more greyhounds are mercilessly killed annually because they don’t make the grade.
As revealed in the award-winning “RTE Investigates: Greyhounds running for their lives” documentary last year, around 6,000 greyhounds are killed every year simply because they are not fast enough. It included shocking scenes of dogs being delivered to a knackery where they were shot in the head and dumped in a skip. One shot dog was seen writhing on the ground in agony as his merciless owner drove away. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYTb2qBjlMM
Danny Healy-Rae, who has backed €168 million in government grants to horse and greyhound racing over the past two years, is also a supporter of cruel hare coursing. Earlier this year, he shamefully placed an advert in a coursing booklet “wishing all the best to everyone at the Castleisland Coursing Club.” In 2019, he outrageously called for the army to be sent to Kerry to deal with deer on the roads. Previously, he complained that there was “not enough control” of animals, including protected species, and that this “has to be addressed”.
Danny Healy-Rae TD and Animal Cruelty Issues
In June 2016, Danny Healy-Rae was among the 114 TDs who voted against Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan’s bill which sought to ban cruel hare coursing.
“Danny Healy Rae. Wishing all the best to everyone at The Castleisland Coursing Club.” Advert in Castleisland Coursing Club booklet, January 2020.
“The move to cut three race nights from the monthly calendar by the Irish Greyhound Board and relocate them to Cork and Limerick has hurt many dog owners and will certainly hurt business in Tralee.” Dail debate, 30 July 2020.
In March 2019, he outrageously called for the army to be sent to Kerry to deal with deer on the roads. “People in Kerry are facing turmoil and tears with deer on the roads,” he stated in a Dail speech. “The deer are patrolling into the towns and the villages. They’re in the estates around Killarney and they have the place taken over…Will [the Taoiseach] call out the army to make our roads safer because the deer have taken over.” 26 March 2019.
“Sheep farmers are also in serious trouble. Lamb prices decreased from €10 to €7 this year. The margins are very small and when farmers are hit with such losses they will be in serious trouble all along the hillsides of Kerry where they are up late and early trying to endure and survive and when everything else is surmounted they have to deal with the fox.” Dáil debates, Agriculture Statements, 4 May 2016.
In 2018 and 2019, he voted in favour of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations which granted €84 million/€84 million of taxpayers’ money to horse and greyhound racing.
“I am getting many calls in Kerry concerning the doping of greyhounds in events throughout the country. It is affecting the trade, and I am asking that it be investigated and stopped. It is hurting many people who have lived for greyhounds and look after them very well.” Dail Debate, Animal Welfare: Motion, 3 October 2017
“I support the live cattle trade because if we did not have it, the factories would have more of a monopoly. Indeed, they have too much of a stranglehold on the price that farmers are allowed to get for their efforts at the present time.” Dail Debate, Animal Welfare: Motion, 3 October 2017
“There is not enough control of mink, foxes, badgers, grey crows, magpies, pine martins, Sika deer and seagulls, which endlessly afflict our domestic animals and ground nesting birds. That has to be addressed, and it should be addressed in this Bill as well.” Dail Debate, Animal Welfare: Motion, 3 October 2017.
“I wish to again raise the matter of the hare netting and coursing licence which has been refused or suspended by the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Madigan. The people of County Kerry and other rural dwellers feel wrongly disenfranchised by a Dublin-based Minister who also prevented the cutting of hedgerows in August. They believe that the Minister does not understand the amount of money and care they have invested in the dog industry or the love they have for the dogs. They are outraged by the demand of the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, that coursing and the greyhound industry be taken off Fáilte Ireland.” Dáil debate, 2 October 2019
ACTION ALERT
The Irish Government has squandered over ONE AND A QUARTER BILLION EUROS of scarce public funds on horse and greyhound racing since 2001. It’s time for this to stop.
Contact Taoiseach Micheal Martin, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar and Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe and demand an end to state funding to horse racing and greyhound racing. Tell them to redirect the funds to the many deserving charities, health/homeless/environmental groups, sports clubs, animal rescue centres, etc crying out for funding.
Paschal Donohoe TD
Minister for Finance
Email: paschal.donohoe@oireachtas.ie; minister@per.gov.ie
Tel: 01 6045810
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaschalDonohoe/
Tweet to @Paschald CONTACT TDS AND URGE THEM TO OPPOSE THE FUNDING
SAMPLE LETTER
(If you have time, please write your own personal letter)
Dear Deputy,
I am writing to urge you to please oppose further funding to horse and greyhound racing.
The Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations channelled another €84 million of taxpayers’ money into the gambling activities in 2020, bringing to more than one and a quarter billion euros the amount handed over since 2001.
Much of the money given to horse racing ends up as prize money in the pockets of wealthy horse owners and trainers, while the funding for greyhound racing continues despite plummeting attendance at tracks due to shocking revelations about cruelty and killing.
If you saw the “RTE Investigates: Greyhounds running for their lives” documentary, you will understand why there should be absolutely no support given to this shameful industry. The programme revealed that around 6,000 greyhounds are killed every year simply because they are not fast enough to win. We were shown horrifying scenes of greyhounds being delivered to knackeries to be shot in the head. One dog was seen writhing on the ground in agony as his merciless owner drove away https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYTb2qBjlMM
The programme also highlighted the illegal practice of doping dogs to make them run faster or slower to influence the outcomes of races. Also shown were greyhounds with their ears chopped off or burned with acid (to remove identity tattoos before being dumped) and the hellholes that await Irish greyhounds exported to China and Pakistan.
The Irish public is shocked and disgusted at the revelations, which have sparked multiple, ongoing protests outside tracks and calls for a ban on greyhound racing.
A RED C opinion poll commissioned by the Irish Council Against Blood Sports and Greyhound Action Ireland shows that two out of every three Irish adults agree that the government should stop funding greyhound racing [66% Agree, 16% Disagree, 18% Don’t Know] Petitions urging the government to stop the funding have attracted over 400,000 signatures.
It is COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE that scarce public funds have been pumped into horse and greyhound racing. It is time for this to be stopped and for the money to be redirected to the many deserving charities, health/homeless/environmental groups, sports clubs, animal rescue centres, etc crying out for funding.
Thank you. I look forward to your positive response.
Yours sincerely,
[Name/Address] Email the letter to all Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour Party TDs (who back the grants every year).
“You have my support calling on the Heritage Minister, Malcolm Noonan, to refuse a 2020-2021 licence for cruel hare coursing.” Thank you to Cllr Tom Fortune (Independent, Wicklow County Council) for supporting calls for an end to the licensing of cruel coursing.
HELP THE HARES: Please urgently contact Green Party Ministers Malcolm Noonan (who has responsibility for the National Parks and Wildlife Service) and Catherine Martin (who has responsibility for wildlife) and urge them to REFUSE a 2020-21 hare coursing licence.
With a RED C opinion poll confirming that a 77 per cent majority of Irish citizens want hare coursing banned (with just 9 per cent disagreeing with a ban), it is now time for politicians to consign this nasty bloodsport to history. Join us in contacting all TDs and urging them to act to ensure that a ban is urgently introduced. Visit the Oireachtas website for contact details for TDs https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/tds/?term=/ie/oireachtas/house/dail/33
Urge Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tanaiste Leo Varadkar to respect the wishes of the majority and ban hare coursing and all bloodsports.
The Irish Government has squandered over ONE AND A QUARTER BILLION EUROS of scarce public funds on horse and greyhound racing since 2001. It’s time for this stop.
ACTION ALERT
Contact Taoiseach Micheal Martin, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar and Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe and demand an end to state funding to horse racing and greyhound racing. Tell them to redirect the funds to the many deserving charities, health/homeless/environmental groups, sports clubs, animal rescue centres, etc crying out for funding.
Paschal Donohoe TD
Minister for Finance
Email: paschal.donohoe@oireachtas.ie; minister@per.gov.ie
Tel: 01 6045810
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaschalDonohoe/
Tweet to @Paschald CONTACT TDS AND URGE THEM TO OPPOSE THE FUNDING
SAMPLE LETTER
(If you have time, please write your own personal letter)
Dear Deputy,
I am writing to urge you to please oppose further funding to horse and greyhound racing.
The Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations channelled another €84 million of taxpayers’ money into the gambling activities in 2020, bringing to more than one and a quarter billion euros the amount handed over since 2001.
Much of the money given to horse racing ends up as prize money in the pockets of wealthy horse owners and trainers, while the funding for greyhound racing continues despite plummeting attendance at tracks due to shocking revelations about cruelty and killing.
If you saw the “RTE Investigates: Greyhounds running for their lives” documentary, you will understand why there should be absolutely no support given to this shameful industry. The programme revealed that around 6,000 greyhounds are killed every year simply because they are not fast enough to win. We were shown horrifying scenes of greyhounds being delivered to knackeries to be shot in the head. One dog was seen writhing on the ground in agony as his merciless owner drove away https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYTb2qBjlMM
The programme also highlighted the illegal practice of doping dogs to make them run faster or slower to influence the outcomes of races. Also shown were greyhounds with their ears chopped off or burned with acid (to remove identity tattoos before being dumped) and the hellholes that await Irish greyhounds exported to China and Pakistan.
The Irish public is shocked and disgusted at the revelations, which have sparked multiple, ongoing protests outside tracks and calls for a ban on greyhound racing.
A RED C opinion poll commissioned by the Irish Council Against Blood Sports and Greyhound Action Ireland shows that two out of every three Irish adults agree that the government should stop funding greyhound racing [66% Agree, 16% Disagree, 18% Don’t Know] Petitions urging the government to stop the funding have attracted over 400,000 signatures.
It is COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE that scarce public funds have been pumped into horse and greyhound racing. It is time for this to be stopped and for the money to be redirected to the many deserving charities, health/homeless/environmental groups, sports clubs, animal rescue centres, etc crying out for funding.
Thank you. I look forward to your positive response.
Yours sincerely,
[Name/Address] Email the letter to all Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour Party TDs (who back the grants every year).
RT @banbloodsports: HELP THE HARES: Urgently contact Green Party Ministers Catherine Martin (Tel: 01-618 3018) and Malcolm Noonan (Tel: 01-… 7 hours ago
RT @banbloodsports: "Hare coursing is a brutal ordeal...Hare coursing involves the terrorising of one animal by another animal as a so-call… 7 hours ago
