“I fully support a ban on hare coursing”: Fine Gael Councillor Punam Rane

Thank you to Fine Gael Councillor Punam Rane for becoming the latest politician to express support for a ban on cruel hare coursing.

Cllr Rane – who represents Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart on Fingal County Council – told ICABS: “I fully support a ban on hare coursing.”

“I am outraged by the fact that these kind of ‘sports’ still continue in this day and age when they should have been banned long ago,” Cllr Rane added.

She joins a growing list of Councillors/TDs/Senators expressing opposition to hare coursing – a bloodsport which 77% of Irish citizens want banned.

Among them are other members of Fingal County Council:

Cllr Aoibhinn Tormey (Fine Gael) – “I am against all cruelty to animals which of course includes hare coursing”

Cllr David Healy (Green Party) – “I am opposed to all blood sports including fox hunting and coursing and in favour of a ban on them.”

Cllr Dean Mulligan (Independents 4 Change) – “I fully support any initiative which puts animal rights to the fore, hare coursing, puppy farms, or dog racing are among the many animal welfare debacles in complete contravention of animals’ rights and politicians and public alike need to champion animal rights.”

Cllr Joe Newman (Independent) – “I will support a ban on coursing and fox hunting.”

Cllr Natalie Treacy (Sinn Fein) – “I am against any form of animal cruelty, and would be in total favour of a ban on bloodsports.”

Find out the views of other politicians at
https://banbloodsports.wordpress.com/2020/01/08/politicians-and-animal-cruelty-issues/

URGENT ACTION ALERT

Please contact Minister Darragh O’Brien and demand a permanent withdrawal of the 2020-21 coursing licence and the immediate release of all hares currently in captivity in coursing compounds.

Minister Darragh O’Brien (Fianna Fail, Dublin Fingal)
Tel: (01) 618 3802 OR (086) 251 9893
Email: darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie; minister@housing.gov.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DarraghOBrienTD
Twitter: http://twitter.com/DarraghOBrienTD

With a RED C opinion poll confirming that a 77 per cent majority of Irish citizens want hare coursing banned (with just 9% wanting it to continue), 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.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Phone: +353 (0)1–618 4350 or +353 (0)21-432 0088
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar
Telephone: +353 (0)1-640 3133
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Tweet to: http://www.twitter.com/@LeoVaradkar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar

Contact Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour Party TDs and urge them to back a ban on cruel hare coursing.

Fianna Fail TDs

john.mcguinness@oireachtas.ie; niamh.smyth@oireachtas.ie; brendan.smith@oireachtas.ie; aindrias.moynihan@oireachtas.ie; michael.moynihan.td@oireachtas.ie; micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; michael.mcgrath@oireachtas.ie; Charlie.McConalogue@oireachtas.ie; sean.haughey@oireachtas.ie; jim.ocallaghan@oireachtas.ie; darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie; jack@jackchambers.ie; anne.rabbitte@oireachtas.ie; eamon.ocuiv@oireachtas.ie; james.lawless@oireachtas.ie; sean.ofearghail@oireachtas.ie; sean.fleming@oireachtas.ie; barry.cowen@oireachtas.ie; willie.odea@oireachtas.ie; niall.collins@oireachtas.ie; Robert.Troy@oireachtas.ie; dara.calleary@oireachtas.ie; thomas.byrne@oireachtas.ie; marc.macsharry@oireachtas.ie; jackie.cahill@oireachtas.ie; mary.butler@oireachtas.ie; james.browne@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.murnaneoconnor@oireachtas.ie; cathal.crowe@oireachtas.ie; james.oconnor@oireachtas.ie; padraig.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; christopher.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; paul.mcauliffe@oireachtas.ie; john.lahart@oireachtas.ie; cormac@cormacdevlin.ie; normafoley1@eircom.net; joe.flaherty@oireachtas.ie; Stephen.Donnelly@oireachtas.ie

Fine Gael TDs

JohnPaul.Phelan@oireachtas.ie; Heather.Humphreys@oireachtas.ie; joe.carey@oireachtas.ie; david.stanton@oir.ie; colm.burke@oireachtas.ie; michael.creed@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Coveney@oireachtas.ie; joe.mchugh@oireachtas.ie; richard.bruton@oireachtas.ie; Eoghan.Murphy@oireachtas.ie; Paschal.Donohoe@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Farrell@oireachtas.ie; emer.higgins@oireachtas.ie; neale.richmond@oireachtas.ie; josepha.madigan@oireachtas.ie; colm.brophy@oireachtas.ie; leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.carrollmacneill@oireachtas.ie; Ciaran.Cannon@oireachtas.ie; hildegarde.naughton@oireachtas.ie; Brendan.Griffin@oireachtas.ie; bernard.durkan@oireachtas.ie; Martin.Heydon@oireachtas.ie; charles.flanagan@oireachtas.ie; kieran.odonnell@oireachtas.ie; Patrick.O’Donovan@oireachtas.ie; peter.burke@oireachtas.ie; fergus.odowd@oireachtas.ie; alan.dillon@oireachtas.ie; michael.ring@oireachtas.ie; helen.mcentee@oireachtas.ie; damien.english@oireachtas.ie; frank.feighan@oireachtas.ie; paul.kehoe@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Harris@oireachtas.ie

Green Party TDs

Eamon.Ryan@greenparty.ie; catherine.martin@oireachtas.ie; patrick.costello@oireachtas.ie; francisnoel.duffy@oireachtas.ie; neasa.hourigan@oireachtas.ie; brian.leddin@oireachtas.ie; steven.matthews@oireachtas.ie; malcolm.noonan@oireachtas.ie; joe.obrien@oireachtas.ie; marc.ocathasaigh@oireachtas.ie; roderic.ogorman@oireachtas.ie;
ossian.smyth@oireachtas.ie

Sinn Fein TDs

john.brady@oireachtas.ie; pat.buckley@oireachtas.ie; Sean.Crowe@oireachtas.ie; david.cullinane@oireachtas.ie; Pearse.Doherty@oireachtas.ie; dessie.ellis@oir.ie; kathleen.funchion@oireachtas.ie; martinkennysf@gmail.com; MaryLou.McDonald@oireachtas.ie; denise.mitchell@oireachtas.ie; imelda.munster@oireachtas.ie; eoin.obroin@oireachtas.ie; donnchadh.olaoghaire@oireachtas.ie; aengus.osnodaigh@oireachtas.ie; louiseoreillysf@gmail.com; maurice.quinlivan@oireachtas.ie; Brian.Stanley@oireachtas.ie; mark.ward@oireachtas.ie; chris.andrews@oireachtas.ie; martin.browne@oireachtas.ie; matt.carthy@oireachtas.ie; sorca.clarke@oireachtas.ie; roseconwaywalsh@eircom.net; reada.cronin@oireachtas.ie; pa.daly@oireachtas.ie; paul.donnelly@oireachtas.ie; mairead.farrell@oireachtas.ie; thomas.gould@oireachtas.ie; johnny.guirke@oireachtas.ie; claire.kerrane@oireachtas.ie; padraig.maclochlainn@oir.ie; johnny.mythen@oireachtas.ie; ruairi.omurchu@oireachtas.ie; darren.orourke@oireachtas.ie; patriciaryan975@gmail.com; pauline.tully@oireachtas.ie; vwynne@gmail.com

Labour Party TDs

sean.sherlock@oireachtas.ie; aodhan.oriordain@oireachtas.ie; duncan.smith@oireachtas.ie; gerald.nash@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Kelly@oireachtas.ie; brendan.howlin@oireachtas.ie

Please sign and share the petitions

Ban Blood Sports in Ireland
https://www.change.org/p/ban-blood-sports-in-ireland

Ireland – Ban cruel hare coursing
http://www.change.org/p/ireland-ban-cruel-hare-coursing

Witness the cruelty of hare coursing in Ireland

“A CAR CRASH INTERVIEW”: Off the Ball presenter reacts to Business Post interview with Greyhound Racing Ireland chairman

A Business Post feature on Greyhound Racing Ireland chairman Frank Nyhan has been described as “a car crash interview” during an Off The Ball Sunday paper review [17 January 2021].

Reacting to the article, programme presenter Joe Molloy commented: “One other point – given the week that has been, with the Mother and Baby Homes report [which found that at least 9,000 children died in 18 mother and baby homes across Ireland] – jeez, the PR here – [quoting Nyhan:] ‘we probably didn’t treat animals terribly well in the past but we didn’t treat humans very well either, based on what we’ve been reading this week. So, you know, you have to learn from mistakes and move on.’ This is a car crash interview. I just couldn’t believe this.” (Later in the programme, he went on to say that, “on reflection, that’s a bit harsh”).

Mr Molloy also challenged a statement from the GRI chairman that “an awful lot of people who are instinctively against greyhound racing have never been at a greyhound race”, responding: “when he says people who dislike the sport have never been to a greyhound race – you don’t need to have been to a greyhound race to have an opinion on what’s been happening to greyhounds in this country over however long.”

Listeners were reminded of harrowing scenes from the award-winning “RTE Investigates: Greyhounds Running for their Lives” documentary which revealed that 6,000 greyhounds are culled (shot in the head, etc) every year because they are not fast enough. An extract from the Business Post article was read out – “In a scene that still gets shared on social media by critics of the industry, the documentary shows one dog clearly nervous on arrival at the yard while the man who brought it waits in his van. A single shot is fired to the back of the dog’s head, and the man drives off after being handed the dogs’ collar, while his greyhound writhes for the last seconds of its life.” See https://youtu.be/ZYTb2qBjlMM?t=3206

“Anyone who saw that documentary will have been absolutely appalled,” programme guest Dave McIntyre from Virgin Media TV stated. “[Nyhan’s] point that those who are critics of the industry are those who have never been to a race meeting – that’s utterly irrelevant. People would have similar issues with various sports, various aspects of life without ever having been personally involved themselves. I don’t buy that argument at all.”

“If he was hoping to convince the naysayers or those on the fence or those with a feeling of indifference towards the greyhound racing industry, that it is a sport that should endure, he certainly didn’t win me over,” he said, adding that he “never really understood the prevalence of the greyhound racing industry in this country”.

Listen to the full Off the Ball programme at
https://www.pscp.tv/offtheball/1kvJpoppWaOGE?t=15m49s

Read the Aaron Rogan Business Post article at
https://www.businesspost.ie/sunday-interview/the-sunday-interview-frank-nyhan-13cf3856 OR

ACTION ALERT

STOP THE STATE FUNDING FOR GREYHOUND RACING

Since 2001, Greyhound Racing Ireland (formerly the Irish Greyhound Board) has been granted more than a QUARTER OF A BILLION EUROS, including €16.8 million for 2020 and another €19.2 million for 2021. The government should not be funding an activity that is responsible for so much suffering and death. Urge the Taoiseach, Tánaiste, Agriculture Minister and Finance Minister to stop the funding and back a ban on cruel greyhound racing. Tell them to redirect the money into the health bodies, sports clubs, homeless charities, animal rescue centres and environmental groups crying out for support.

An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie
Phone: 021-432 0088 OR 01–618 3000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD

Leo Varadkar, Tánaiste
Telephone: 01-619 4020
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@LeoVaradkar

Charlie McConalogue
Minister for Agriculture
Tel: (01) 618 3199
Email: charlie.mcconalogue@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CharlieMcConalogue
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@McConalogue

Paschal Donohoe TD
Minister for Finance
Email: paschal.donohoe@oireachtas.ie; minister@per.gov.ie
Tel: 01 6045810
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaschalDonohoe/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@Paschald

Please contact your local TDs and urge them to oppose this funding. Visit the Oireachtas website for contact details for TDs https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/tds/?term=/ie/oireachtas/house/dail/33

Urge the leaders of the Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour to stop the funding and back a ban on cruel greyhound racing

Eamon Ryan TD
Leader, Green Party
Tel: 01 618 3894
Email: eamon.ryan@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EamonRyanGP/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EamonRyan

Mary Lou McDonald TD
Leader, Sinn Fein
Tel: (01) 727 7102
Email: marylou.mcdonald@oireachtas.ie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaryLouMcDonald
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MaryLouMcDonaldTD

Alan Kelly TD
Leader, Labour Party
Tel: 067 34190
Email: alan.kelly@oir.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alankellytd/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/alankellylabour

“Stop state funding to cruel greyhound racing” – Email all Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour Party TDs.

Fianna Fáil TDs

john.mcguinness@oireachtas.ie; niamh.smyth@oireachtas.ie; brendan.smith@oireachtas.ie; aindrias.moynihan@oireachtas.ie; michael.moynihan.td@oireachtas.ie; micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; michael.mcgrath@oireachtas.ie; Charlie.McConalogue@oireachtas.ie; sean.haughey@oireachtas.ie; jim.ocallaghan@oireachtas.ie; darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie; jack@jackchambers.ie; anne.rabbitte@oireachtas.ie; eamon.ocuiv@oireachtas.ie; james.lawless@oireachtas.ie; sean.ofearghail@oireachtas.ie; sean.fleming@oireachtas.ie; barry.cowen@oireachtas.ie; willie.odea@oireachtas.ie; niall.collins@oireachtas.ie; Robert.Troy@oireachtas.ie; dara.calleary@oireachtas.ie; thomas.byrne@oireachtas.ie; marc.macsharry@oireachtas.ie; jackie.cahill@oireachtas.ie; mary.butler@oireachtas.ie; james.browne@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.murnaneoconnor@oireachtas.ie; cathal.crowe@oireachtas.ie; james.oconnor@oireachtas.ie; padraig.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; christopher.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; paul.mcauliffe@oireachtas.ie; john.lahart@oireachtas.ie; cormac@cormacdevlin.ie; normafoley1@eircom.net; joe.flaherty@oireachtas.ie; Stephen.Donnelly@oireachtas.ie

Fine Gael TDs

JohnPaul.Phelan@oireachtas.ie; Heather.Humphreys@oireachtas.ie; joe.carey@oireachtas.ie; david.stanton@oir.ie; colm.burke@oireachtas.ie; michael.creed@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Coveney@oireachtas.ie; joe.mchugh@oireachtas.ie; richard.bruton@oireachtas.ie; Eoghan.Murphy@oireachtas.ie; Paschal.Donohoe@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Farrell@oireachtas.ie; emer.higgins@oireachtas.ie; neale.richmond@oireachtas.ie; josepha.madigan@oireachtas.ie; colm.brophy@oireachtas.ie; leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.carrollmacneill@oireachtas.ie; Ciaran.Cannon@oireachtas.ie; hildegarde.naughton@oireachtas.ie; Brendan.Griffin@oireachtas.ie; bernard.durkan@oireachtas.ie; Martin.Heydon@oireachtas.ie; charles.flanagan@oireachtas.ie; kieran.odonnell@oireachtas.ie; Patrick.O’Donovan@oireachtas.ie; peter.burke@oireachtas.ie; fergus.odowd@oireachtas.ie; alan.dillon@oireachtas.ie; michael.ring@oireachtas.ie; helen.mcentee@oireachtas.ie; damien.english@oireachtas.ie; frank.feighan@oireachtas.ie; paul.kehoe@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Harris@oireachtas.ie

Green Party TDs

Eamon.Ryan@greenparty.ie; catherine.martin@oireachtas.ie; patrick.costello@oireachtas.ie; francisnoel.duffy@oireachtas.ie; neasa.hourigan@oireachtas.ie; brian.leddin@oireachtas.ie; steven.matthews@oireachtas.ie; malcolm.noonan@oireachtas.ie; joe.obrien@oireachtas.ie; marc.ocathasaigh@oireachtas.ie; roderic.ogorman@oireachtas.ie; ossian.smyth@oireachtas.ie

Sinn Fein TDs

john.brady@oireachtas.ie; pat.buckley@oireachtas.ie; Sean.Crowe@oireachtas.ie; david.cullinane@oireachtas.ie; Pearse.Doherty@oireachtas.ie; dessie.ellis@oir.ie; kathleen.funchion@oireachtas.ie; martinkennysf@gmail.com; MaryLou.McDonald@oireachtas.ie; denise.mitchell@oireachtas.ie; imelda.munster@oireachtas.ie; eoin.obroin@oireachtas.ie; donnchadh.olaoghaire@oireachtas.ie; aengus.osnodaigh@oireachtas.ie; louiseoreillysf@gmail.com; maurice.quinlivan@oireachtas.ie; Brian.Stanley@oireachtas.ie; mark.ward@oireachtas.ie; chris.andrews@oireachtas.ie; martin.browne@oireachtas.ie; matt.carthy@oireachtas.ie; sorca.clarke@oireachtas.ie; roseconwaywalsh@eircom.net; reada.cronin@oireachtas.ie; pa.daly@oireachtas.ie; paul.donnelly@oireachtas.ie; mairead.farrell@oireachtas.ie; thomas.gould@oireachtas.ie; johnny.guirke@oireachtas.ie; claire.kerrane@oireachtas.ie; padraig.maclochlainn@oir.ie; johnny.mythen@oireachtas.ie; ruairi.omurchu@oireachtas.ie; darren.orourke@oireachtas.ie; patriciaryan975@gmail.com; pauline.tully@oireachtas.ie; vwynne@gmail.com

Labour Party TDs

sean.sherlock@oireachtas.ie; aodhan.oriordain@oireachtas.ie; duncan.smith@oireachtas.ie; gerald.nash@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Kelly@oireachtas.ie; brendan.howlin@oireachtas.ie

Please sign and share the petitions

Irish Government: Stop Giving Millions of Euro to Cruel Greyhound Racing
https://www.change.org/p/irish-government-stop-giving-millions-of-euro-to-cruel-greyhound-racing

Stop supporting the cruel greyhound “industry”
https://www.change.org/p/stop-supporting-the-cruel-greyhound-industry

GAA: Stop club fundraisers at greyhound tracks
https://www.change.org/p/gaa-stop-club-fundraisers-at-greyhound-tracks

Tell Gain Pet Nutrition to Stop Sponsoring Greyhound Racing
https://www.change.org/p/jimtracy-glanbia-ie-tell-gain-pet-nutrition-to-stop-sponsoring-greyhound-racing

Irish Government grants to greyhound racing

2001 €11,777,583
2002 €13,613,163
2003 €12,837,200
2004 €13,382,800
2005 €13,670,000
2006 €14,012,000
2007 €14,572,000
2008 €15,257,000
2009 €13,625,600
2010 €11,852,800
2011 €11,460,000
2012 €11,258,000
2013 €11,004,000
2014 €10,844,000
2015 €13,600,000
2016 €14,800,000
2017 €16,000,000
2018 €16,000,000
2019 €16,800,000
2020 €16,800,000
2021 €19,200,000

Total: €292 Million (€0.292 Billion)

Source: Department of Agriculture

Watch RTE’s award-winning “Greyhounds Running For Their Lives” documentary

“I am against all cruelty to animals – [including] hare coursing”: Fine Gael Councillor Aoibhinn Tormey

Thank you to Fingal Fine Gael Councillor Aoibhinn Tormey for becoming the latest politician to express opposition to cruel hare coursing.

Cllr Dr Tormey – who represents the Howth Malahide Ward – told ICABS this week: “I am against all cruelty to animals which, of course, includes hare coursing.”

She joins a growing list of TDs/Senators/Councillors expressing opposition to hare coursing – a bloodsport which 77% of Irish citizens want banned.

Among them are other members of Fingal County Council:

Cllr David Healy (Green Party) – “I am opposed to all blood sports including fox hunting and coursing and in favour of a ban on them.”

Cllr Dean Mulligan (Independents 4 Change) – “I fully support any initiative which puts animal rights to the fore, hare coursing, puppy farms, or dog racing are among the many animal welfare debacles in complete contravention of animals’ rights and politicians and public alike need to champion animal rights.”

Cllr Joe Newman (Independent) – “I will support a ban on coursing and fox hunting.”

Cllr Natalie Treacy (Sinn Fein, Fingal County Council) – “I am against any form of animal cruelty, and would be in total favour of a ban on bloodsports.”

Find out the views of other politicians at
https://banbloodsports.wordpress.com/2020/01/08/politicians-and-animal-cruelty-issues/

URGENT ACTION ALERT

Please contact Minister Darragh O’Brien and demand a permanent withdrawal of the 2020-21 coursing licence and the immediate release of all hares currently in captivity in coursing compounds.

Minister Darragh O’Brien (Fianna Fail, Dublin Fingal)
Tel: (01) 618 3802 OR (086) 251 9893
Email: darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie; minister@housing.gov.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DarraghOBrienTD
Twitter: http://twitter.com/DarraghOBrienTD

With a RED C opinion poll confirming that a 77 per cent majority of Irish citizens want hare coursing banned, 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.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Phone: +353 (0)1–618 4350 or +353 (0)21-432 0088
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar
Telephone: +353 (0)1-640 3133
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Tweet to: http://www.twitter.com/@LeoVaradkar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar

Contact Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour Party TDs and urge them to back a ban on cruel hare coursing.

Fianna Fail TDs

john.mcguinness@oireachtas.ie; niamh.smyth@oireachtas.ie; brendan.smith@oireachtas.ie; aindrias.moynihan@oireachtas.ie; michael.moynihan.td@oireachtas.ie; micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; michael.mcgrath@oireachtas.ie; Charlie.McConalogue@oireachtas.ie; sean.haughey@oireachtas.ie; jim.ocallaghan@oireachtas.ie; darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie; jack@jackchambers.ie; anne.rabbitte@oireachtas.ie; eamon.ocuiv@oireachtas.ie; james.lawless@oireachtas.ie; sean.ofearghail@oireachtas.ie; sean.fleming@oireachtas.ie; barry.cowen@oireachtas.ie; willie.odea@oireachtas.ie; niall.collins@oireachtas.ie; Robert.Troy@oireachtas.ie; dara.calleary@oireachtas.ie; thomas.byrne@oireachtas.ie; marc.macsharry@oireachtas.ie; jackie.cahill@oireachtas.ie; mary.butler@oireachtas.ie; james.browne@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.murnaneoconnor@oireachtas.ie; cathal.crowe@oireachtas.ie; james.oconnor@oireachtas.ie; padraig.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; christopher.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; paul.mcauliffe@oireachtas.ie; john.lahart@oireachtas.ie; cormac@cormacdevlin.ie; normafoley1@eircom.net; joe.flaherty@oireachtas.ie; Stephen.Donnelly@oireachtas.ie

Fine Gael TDs

JohnPaul.Phelan@oireachtas.ie; Heather.Humphreys@oireachtas.ie; joe.carey@oireachtas.ie; david.stanton@oir.ie; colm.burke@oireachtas.ie; michael.creed@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Coveney@oireachtas.ie; joe.mchugh@oireachtas.ie; richard.bruton@oireachtas.ie; Eoghan.Murphy@oireachtas.ie; Paschal.Donohoe@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Farrell@oireachtas.ie; emer.higgins@oireachtas.ie; neale.richmond@oireachtas.ie; josepha.madigan@oireachtas.ie; colm.brophy@oireachtas.ie; leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.carrollmacneill@oireachtas.ie; Ciaran.Cannon@oireachtas.ie; hildegarde.naughton@oireachtas.ie; Brendan.Griffin@oireachtas.ie; bernard.durkan@oireachtas.ie; Martin.Heydon@oireachtas.ie; charles.flanagan@oireachtas.ie; kieran.odonnell@oireachtas.ie; Patrick.O’Donovan@oireachtas.ie; peter.burke@oireachtas.ie; fergus.odowd@oireachtas.ie; alan.dillon@oireachtas.ie; michael.ring@oireachtas.ie; helen.mcentee@oireachtas.ie; damien.english@oireachtas.ie; frank.feighan@oireachtas.ie; paul.kehoe@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Harris@oireachtas.ie

Green Party TDs

Eamon.Ryan@greenparty.ie; catherine.martin@oireachtas.ie; patrick.costello@oireachtas.ie; francisnoel.duffy@oireachtas.ie; neasa.hourigan@oireachtas.ie; brian.leddin@oireachtas.ie; steven.matthews@oireachtas.ie; malcolm.noonan@oireachtas.ie; joe.obrien@oireachtas.ie; marc.ocathasaigh@oireachtas.ie; roderic.ogorman@oireachtas.ie;
ossian.smyth@oireachtas.ie

Sinn Fein TDs

john.brady@oireachtas.ie; pat.buckley@oireachtas.ie; Sean.Crowe@oireachtas.ie; david.cullinane@oireachtas.ie; Pearse.Doherty@oireachtas.ie; dessie.ellis@oir.ie; kathleen.funchion@oireachtas.ie; martinkennysf@gmail.com; MaryLou.McDonald@oireachtas.ie; denise.mitchell@oireachtas.ie; imelda.munster@oireachtas.ie; eoin.obroin@oireachtas.ie; donnchadh.olaoghaire@oireachtas.ie; aengus.osnodaigh@oireachtas.ie; louiseoreillysf@gmail.com; maurice.quinlivan@oireachtas.ie; Brian.Stanley@oireachtas.ie; mark.ward@oireachtas.ie; chris.andrews@oireachtas.ie; martin.browne@oireachtas.ie; matt.carthy@oireachtas.ie; sorca.clarke@oireachtas.ie; roseconwaywalsh@eircom.net; reada.cronin@oireachtas.ie; pa.daly@oireachtas.ie; paul.donnelly@oireachtas.ie; mairead.farrell@oireachtas.ie; thomas.gould@oireachtas.ie; johnny.guirke@oireachtas.ie; claire.kerrane@oireachtas.ie; padraig.maclochlainn@oir.ie; johnny.mythen@oireachtas.ie; ruairi.omurchu@oireachtas.ie; darren.orourke@oireachtas.ie; patriciaryan975@gmail.com; pauline.tully@oireachtas.ie; vwynne@gmail.com

Labour Party TDs

sean.sherlock@oireachtas.ie; aodhan.oriordain@oireachtas.ie; duncan.smith@oireachtas.ie; gerald.nash@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Kelly@oireachtas.ie; brendan.howlin@oireachtas.ie

Please sign and share the petitions

Ban Blood Sports in Ireland
https://www.change.org/p/ban-blood-sports-in-ireland

Ireland – Ban cruel hare coursing
http://www.change.org/p/ireland-ban-cruel-hare-coursing

Witness the cruelty of hare coursing in Ireland

173,000 sign ICABS petition urging government to stop funding cruel greyhound racing

An Irish Council Against Blood Sports petition calling on the government to stop funding cruel greyhound racing has been signed by more than 173,000.

The Change.org petition urges the government to stop giving millions of euros to cruel greyhound racing and highlights that “Greyhound Racing Ireland (formerly the Irish Greyhound Board) – which has control over track racing and hare coursing – has received more than a quarter of a billion euros in government grants since 2001, including €19.2 million for 2021 while other desperately needy sectors of Irish society are crying out for funding”.

Sign the petition at https://www.change.org/p/irish-government-stop-giving-millions-of-euro-to-cruel-greyhound-racing

The government should not be funding a despicable activity that is responsible for the premature deaths of huge numbers of greyhounds who don’t make the grade. As revealed in the “RTE Investigates: Greyhounds Running for their Lives” documentary, around 6,000 greyhounds are killed every year because they are not fast enough to win. Secretly filmed footage showed greyhounds being shot in the head and dumped in skips.

Watch the full documentary 

Petitions set up by Dublin SPCA and the Care2 Team have also received massive support.

The Care2 Team petition, promoted by activist vet and broadcaster Marc Abraham, has been signed over 180,000 times.

Titled “Nearly 6,000 Greyhounds Were Killed Here Because They Were Too Slow”, the petition outlines that the money handed over to the Irish Greyhound Board “will help keep this vile industry afloat and ensure thousands more dogs will be killed”.

“It’s time for Ireland to stand up for greyhounds and animal rights. They must ban the terrible sport of greyhound racing. Sign the petition and ask the Irish Department of Agriculture not to give the Irish Greyhound Board a single cent and tell their parliament to ban the sport now,” the petition adds. https://www.thepetitionsite.com/en-gb/184/794/470/?TAP=1732

Meanwhile, a “Stop Greyhound Racing” petition launched by the Dublin SPCA has been signed by over 66,000 people. The DSPCA says it was horrified at the contents of the RTE Investigates programme, saying “It is simply unacceptable for the Department of Agriculture to continue to provide this funding and to turn a blind eye to the thousands of unwanted greyhounds slaughtered every year. The DSPCA is calling on the Minister for Agriculture to stop all state funding to the greyhound industry with immediate effect.” https://www.change.org/p/the-department-of-agriculture-stop-greyhound-racing

ACTION ALERT

Urge the Taoiseach, Tánaiste, Agriculture Minister and Finance Minister to stop the funding and back a ban on cruel greyhound racing. Tell them to redirect the money into the health bodies, sports clubs, homeless charities, animal rescue centres and environmental groups crying out for support.

An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie
Phone: 021-432 0088 OR 01–618 3000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD

Leo Varadkar, Tánaiste
Telephone: 01-619 4020
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@LeoVaradkar

Charlie McConalogue
Minister for Agriculture
Tel: (01) 618 3199
Email: charlie.mcconalogue@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CharlieMcConalogue
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@McConalogue

Paschal Donohoe TD
Minister for Finance
Email: paschal.donohoe@oireachtas.ie; minister@per.gov.ie
Tel: 01 6045810
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaschalDonohoe/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@Paschald

Please contact your local TDs and urge them to oppose this funding. Visit the Oireachtas website for contact details for TDs https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/tds/?term=/ie/oireachtas/house/dail/33

Urge the leaders of the Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour to stop the funding and back a ban on cruel greyhound racing

Eamon Ryan TD
Leader, Green Party
Tel: 01 618 3894
Email: eamon.ryan@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EamonRyanGP/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EamonRyan

Mary Lou McDonald TD
Leader, Sinn Fein
Tel: (01) 727 7102
Email: marylou.mcdonald@oireachtas.ie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaryLouMcDonald
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MaryLouMcDonaldTD

Alan Kelly TD
Leader, Labour Party
Tel: 067 34190
Email: alan.kelly@oir.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alankellytd/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/alankellylabour

“Stop state funding to cruel greyhound racing” – Email all Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour Party TDs.

Fianna Fáil TDs

john.mcguinness@oireachtas.ie; niamh.smyth@oireachtas.ie; brendan.smith@oireachtas.ie; aindrias.moynihan@oireachtas.ie; michael.moynihan.td@oireachtas.ie; micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; michael.mcgrath@oireachtas.ie; Charlie.McConalogue@oireachtas.ie; sean.haughey@oireachtas.ie; jim.ocallaghan@oireachtas.ie; darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie; jack@jackchambers.ie; anne.rabbitte@oireachtas.ie; eamon.ocuiv@oireachtas.ie; james.lawless@oireachtas.ie; sean.ofearghail@oireachtas.ie; sean.fleming@oireachtas.ie; barry.cowen@oireachtas.ie; willie.odea@oireachtas.ie; niall.collins@oireachtas.ie; Robert.Troy@oireachtas.ie; dara.calleary@oireachtas.ie; thomas.byrne@oireachtas.ie; marc.macsharry@oireachtas.ie; jackie.cahill@oireachtas.ie; mary.butler@oireachtas.ie; james.browne@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.murnaneoconnor@oireachtas.ie; cathal.crowe@oireachtas.ie; james.oconnor@oireachtas.ie; padraig.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; christopher.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; paul.mcauliffe@oireachtas.ie; john.lahart@oireachtas.ie; cormac@cormacdevlin.ie; normafoley1@eircom.net; joe.flaherty@oireachtas.ie; Stephen.Donnelly@oireachtas.ie

Fine Gael TDs

JohnPaul.Phelan@oireachtas.ie; Heather.Humphreys@oireachtas.ie; joe.carey@oireachtas.ie; david.stanton@oir.ie; colm.burke@oireachtas.ie; michael.creed@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Coveney@oireachtas.ie; joe.mchugh@oireachtas.ie; richard.bruton@oireachtas.ie; Eoghan.Murphy@oireachtas.ie; Paschal.Donohoe@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Farrell@oireachtas.ie; emer.higgins@oireachtas.ie; neale.richmond@oireachtas.ie; josepha.madigan@oireachtas.ie; colm.brophy@oireachtas.ie; leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.carrollmacneill@oireachtas.ie; Ciaran.Cannon@oireachtas.ie; hildegarde.naughton@oireachtas.ie; Brendan.Griffin@oireachtas.ie; bernard.durkan@oireachtas.ie; Martin.Heydon@oireachtas.ie; charles.flanagan@oireachtas.ie; kieran.odonnell@oireachtas.ie; Patrick.O’Donovan@oireachtas.ie; peter.burke@oireachtas.ie; fergus.odowd@oireachtas.ie; alan.dillon@oireachtas.ie; michael.ring@oireachtas.ie; helen.mcentee@oireachtas.ie; damien.english@oireachtas.ie; frank.feighan@oireachtas.ie; paul.kehoe@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Harris@oireachtas.ie

Green Party TDs

Eamon.Ryan@greenparty.ie; catherine.martin@oireachtas.ie; patrick.costello@oireachtas.ie; francisnoel.duffy@oireachtas.ie; neasa.hourigan@oireachtas.ie; brian.leddin@oireachtas.ie; steven.matthews@oireachtas.ie; malcolm.noonan@oireachtas.ie; joe.obrien@oireachtas.ie; marc.ocathasaigh@oireachtas.ie; roderic.ogorman@oireachtas.ie; ossian.smyth@oireachtas.ie

Sinn Fein TDs

john.brady@oireachtas.ie; pat.buckley@oireachtas.ie; Sean.Crowe@oireachtas.ie; david.cullinane@oireachtas.ie; Pearse.Doherty@oireachtas.ie; dessie.ellis@oir.ie; kathleen.funchion@oireachtas.ie; martinkennysf@gmail.com; MaryLou.McDonald@oireachtas.ie; denise.mitchell@oireachtas.ie; imelda.munster@oireachtas.ie; eoin.obroin@oireachtas.ie; donnchadh.olaoghaire@oireachtas.ie; aengus.osnodaigh@oireachtas.ie; louiseoreillysf@gmail.com; maurice.quinlivan@oireachtas.ie; Brian.Stanley@oireachtas.ie; mark.ward@oireachtas.ie; chris.andrews@oireachtas.ie; martin.browne@oireachtas.ie; matt.carthy@oireachtas.ie; sorca.clarke@oireachtas.ie; roseconwaywalsh@eircom.net; reada.cronin@oireachtas.ie; pa.daly@oireachtas.ie; paul.donnelly@oireachtas.ie; mairead.farrell@oireachtas.ie; thomas.gould@oireachtas.ie; johnny.guirke@oireachtas.ie; claire.kerrane@oireachtas.ie; padraig.maclochlainn@oir.ie; johnny.mythen@oireachtas.ie; ruairi.omurchu@oireachtas.ie; darren.orourke@oireachtas.ie; patriciaryan975@gmail.com; pauline.tully@oireachtas.ie; vwynne@gmail.com

Labour Party TDs

sean.sherlock@oireachtas.ie; aodhan.oriordain@oireachtas.ie; duncan.smith@oireachtas.ie; gerald.nash@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Kelly@oireachtas.ie; brendan.howlin@oireachtas.ie

Irish Government grants to greyhound racing

2001 €11,777,583
2002 €13,613,163
2003 €12,837,200
2004 €13,382,800
2005 €13,670,000
2006 €14,012,000
2007 €14,572,000
2008 €15,257,000
2009 €13,625,600
2010 €11,852,800
2011 €11,460,000
2012 €11,258,000
2013 €11,004,000
2014 €10,844,000
2015 €13,600,000
2016 €14,800,000
2017 €16,000,000
2018 €16,000,000
2019 €16,800,000
2020 €16,800,000
2021 €19,200,000

Total: €292 Million (€0.292 Billion)

Source: Department of Agriculture

Urge Govt to remove exemptions which allow cruel bloodsports to continue

The shameful exemptions in the Animal Health & Welfare Act which allow cruel coursers to terrorise hares with greyhounds and allow hunters to release packs of hounds to chase foxes http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2013/act/15/enacted/en/print#sec12

Section 12 of the Act, which deals with prohibition on animal cruelty, states that “a person shall not (a) do, or fail to do, anything or cause or permit anything to be done to an animal that causes unnecessary suffering to, or endanger the health or welfare of, an animal, or (b) neglect, or be reckless, regarding the health or welfare of an animal”.

However, the same section of the Act goes on to exempt the cruelty carried out by hunters and coursers, stating “Nothing in this section applies in relation to anything which occurs in the ordinary course of…lawfully hunting an animal, unless the animal is released in an injured, mutilated or exhausted condition, or lawfully coursing a hare, unless the hare is hunted or coursed in a space from which it does not have a reasonable chance of escape.”

Hares captured by coursers for use in their bloodsport suffer the fear and stress of being held in captivity and forced to run for their lives. When caught and hit by the unleashed greyhounds, they sustain painful injuries such as broken bones and dislocated hips. When hunters and their hounds catch up with fleeing foxes, the dogs attack and tear the unfortunate foxes apart.

There should be no place for this barbarity in modern Ireland.

Join us in urging Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue and the government to remove these exemptions from the Animal Health and Welfare Act so that hares and foxes can finally live free from animal cruelty.

Charlie McConalogue
Minister for Agriculture
Tel: (01) 618 3199
Email: charlie.mcconalogue@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CharlieMcConalogue
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@McConalogue

Micheál Martin, Taoiseach
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Phone: +353 (0)1–618 4350 or +353 (0)21-432 0088
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD

Leo Varadkar, Tánaiste
Telephone: +353 (0)1-640 3133
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Tweet to: @LeoVaradkar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar

Eamon Ryan TD
Leader, Green Party
Tel: 01 618 3894
Email: eamon.ryan@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EamonRyanGP/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EamonRyan

Please sign and share the petitions

Ban Blood Sports in Ireland
https://www.change.org/p/ban-blood-sports-in-ireland

Ireland – Ban cruel hare coursing
http://www.change.org/p/ireland-ban-cruel-hare-coursing

Witness the cruelty of hare coursing in Ireland

Witness the cruelty of foxhunting at
http://www.banbloodsports.com/videos.htm

Keep hunters off your land

If you are a landowner, make your land off-limits to hunters. Find out more about how to do this on our Farmers/Landowners Page – http://www.banbloodsports.com/farmers.htm

Please support our campaign with a donation
https://www.paypal.me/banbloodsports

Why are greyhounds classified as FARM ANIMALS in Ireland?

Why are greyhounds classified as FARM ANIMALS in Ireland? A question directed at the Minister for Agriculture this week by People Before Profit Alliance TD, Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central).

Responding, Minister Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fáil) stated: “For welfare purposes, Section 2(1) of the Animal Health and Welfare Act, 2013 defines ‘farm animals’ as, among other qualifiers ‘(b) for use in, or for the purposes of, breeding, sport or the farming of land,’”

“The Act does not specifically refer to greyhound classification,” he added. “However, it can be interpreted that those involved in sporting activities, as opposed to domestic pets, are classed as farm animals.”

As highlighted in the RTE Investigates documentary, Greyhounds Running for Their Lives, “Under Irish law, the greyhound breed is not a dog – it is a farm animal, falling under the remit of the Department of Agriculture. In reality, their worth is decided on how fast they can run.”

The Department of Agriculture, through the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund, has channelled over a quarter of a billion euros of taxpayers’ money into greyhound racing since 2001. This includes €16.8 million for 2020 and another €19.2 million for 2021.

A RED C opinion poll commissioned by the Irish Council Against Blood Sports confirms that a two-thirds majority of citizens want the funding stopped, while petitions urging the government to end the funding have more than 400,000 signatures. Please help stop the funding by responding to the action alert below.

ACTION ALERT

STOP THE STATE FUNDING FOR GREYHOUND RACING

Since 2001, Greyhound Racing Ireland (formerly the Irish Greyhound Board) has been granted more than a QUARTER OF A BILLION EUROS, including €16.8 million for 2020 and another €19.2 million for 2021. This is unacceptable and must be stopped.

Please contact your local TDs and urge them to oppose this funding. Visit the Oireachtas website for contact details for TDs https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/tds/?term=/ie/oireachtas/house/dail/33

Urge the leaders of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, the Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour to stop the funding and back a ban on cruel greyhound racing

Micheál Martin TD
Leader, Fianna Fail
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Phone: 021-432 0088
Leinster House: 01–618 4350
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD

Leo Varadkar TD
Leader, Fine Gael
Telephone: 01-619 4020
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Tweet to: http://www.twitter.com/@LeoVaradkar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar

Eamon Ryan TD
Leader, Green Party
Tel: 01 618 3894
Email: eamon.ryan@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EamonRyanGP/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EamonRyan

Mary Lou McDonald TD
Leader, Sinn Fein
Tel: (01) 727 7102
Email: marylou.mcdonald@oireachtas.ie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaryLouMcDonald
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MaryLouMcDonaldTD

Alan Kelly TD
Leader, Labour Party
Tel: 067 34190
Email: alan.kelly@oir.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alankellytd/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/alankellylabour

“Stop state funding to cruel greyhound racing” – Email all Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour Party TDs.

Fianna Fáil TDs

john.mcguinness@oireachtas.ie; niamh.smyth@oireachtas.ie; brendan.smith@oireachtas.ie; aindrias.moynihan@oireachtas.ie; michael.moynihan.td@oireachtas.ie; micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; michael.mcgrath@oireachtas.ie; Charlie.McConalogue@oireachtas.ie; sean.haughey@oireachtas.ie; jim.ocallaghan@oireachtas.ie; darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie; jack@jackchambers.ie; anne.rabbitte@oireachtas.ie; eamon.ocuiv@oireachtas.ie; james.lawless@oireachtas.ie; sean.ofearghail@oireachtas.ie; sean.fleming@oireachtas.ie; barry.cowen@oireachtas.ie; willie.odea@oireachtas.ie; niall.collins@oireachtas.ie; Robert.Troy@oireachtas.ie; dara.calleary@oireachtas.ie; thomas.byrne@oireachtas.ie; marc.macsharry@oireachtas.ie; jackie.cahill@oireachtas.ie; mary.butler@oireachtas.ie; james.browne@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.murnaneoconnor@oireachtas.ie; cathal.crowe@oireachtas.ie; james.oconnor@oireachtas.ie; padraig.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; christopher.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; paul.mcauliffe@oireachtas.ie; john.lahart@oireachtas.ie; cormac@cormacdevlin.ie; normafoley1@eircom.net; joe.flaherty@oireachtas.ie; Stephen.Donnelly@oireachtas.ie

Fine Gael TDs

JohnPaul.Phelan@oireachtas.ie; Heather.Humphreys@oireachtas.ie; joe.carey@oireachtas.ie; david.stanton@oir.ie; colm.burke@oireachtas.ie; michael.creed@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Coveney@oireachtas.ie; joe.mchugh@oireachtas.ie; richard.bruton@oireachtas.ie; Eoghan.Murphy@oireachtas.ie; Paschal.Donohoe@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Farrell@oireachtas.ie; emer.higgins@oireachtas.ie; neale.richmond@oireachtas.ie; josepha.madigan@oireachtas.ie; colm.brophy@oireachtas.ie; leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.carrollmacneill@oireachtas.ie; Ciaran.Cannon@oireachtas.ie; hildegarde.naughton@oireachtas.ie; Brendan.Griffin@oireachtas.ie; bernard.durkan@oireachtas.ie; Martin.Heydon@oireachtas.ie; charles.flanagan@oireachtas.ie; kieran.odonnell@oireachtas.ie; Patrick.O’Donovan@oireachtas.ie; peter.burke@oireachtas.ie; fergus.odowd@oireachtas.ie; alan.dillon@oireachtas.ie; michael.ring@oireachtas.ie; helen.mcentee@oireachtas.ie; damien.english@oireachtas.ie; frank.feighan@oireachtas.ie; paul.kehoe@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Harris@oireachtas.ie

Green Party TDs

Eamon.Ryan@greenparty.ie; catherine.martin@oireachtas.ie; patrick.costello@oireachtas.ie; francisnoel.duffy@oireachtas.ie; neasa.hourigan@oireachtas.ie; brian.leddin@oireachtas.ie; steven.matthews@oireachtas.ie; malcolm.noonan@oireachtas.ie; joe.obrien@oireachtas.ie; marc.ocathasaigh@oireachtas.ie; roderic.ogorman@oireachtas.ie; ossian.smyth@oireachtas.ie

Sinn Fein TDs

john.brady@oireachtas.ie; pat.buckley@oireachtas.ie; Sean.Crowe@oireachtas.ie; david.cullinane@oireachtas.ie; Pearse.Doherty@oireachtas.ie; dessie.ellis@oir.ie; kathleen.funchion@oireachtas.ie; martinkennysf@gmail.com; MaryLou.McDonald@oireachtas.ie; denise.mitchell@oireachtas.ie; imelda.munster@oireachtas.ie; eoin.obroin@oireachtas.ie; donnchadh.olaoghaire@oireachtas.ie; aengus.osnodaigh@oireachtas.ie; louiseoreillysf@gmail.com; maurice.quinlivan@oireachtas.ie; Brian.Stanley@oireachtas.ie; mark.ward@oireachtas.ie; chris.andrews@oireachtas.ie; martin.browne@oireachtas.ie; matt.carthy@oireachtas.ie; sorca.clarke@oireachtas.ie; roseconwaywalsh@eircom.net; reada.cronin@oireachtas.ie; pa.daly@oireachtas.ie; paul.donnelly@oireachtas.ie; mairead.farrell@oireachtas.ie; thomas.gould@oireachtas.ie; johnny.guirke@oireachtas.ie; claire.kerrane@oireachtas.ie; padraig.maclochlainn@oir.ie; johnny.mythen@oireachtas.ie; ruairi.omurchu@oireachtas.ie; darren.orourke@oireachtas.ie; patriciaryan975@gmail.com; pauline.tully@oireachtas.ie; vwynne@gmail.com

Labour Party TDs

sean.sherlock@oireachtas.ie; aodhan.oriordain@oireachtas.ie; duncan.smith@oireachtas.ie; gerald.nash@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Kelly@oireachtas.ie; brendan.howlin@oireachtas.ie

GREYHOUND INJURIES AND DEATHS AT IRISH TRACKS (2020)

Clonmel: 11 injuries, 3 deaths
Curraheen Park: 18 injuries, 9 deaths
Dundalk: 10 injuries, 1 death
Enniscorthy: 15 injuries, 6 deaths
Galway: 22 injuries, 6 deaths
Kilkenny: 11 injuries, 3 deaths
Limerick: 21 injuries, 4 deaths
Longford: 2 injuries, 1 death
Mullingar: 19 injuries, 12 deaths
Newbridge: 9 injuries, 6 deaths
Shelbourne Park: 18 injuries, 3 deaths
Thurles: 11 injuries, 8 deaths
Tralee: 29 injuries, 7 deaths
Waterford: 48 injuries, 10 deaths
Youghal: 11 injuries, 9 deaths

Total 255 injuries, 88 deaths + 2 additional fatalities

Please sign and share the petitions

Irish Government: Stop Giving Millions of Euro to Cruel Greyhound Racing
https://www.change.org/p/irish-government-stop-giving-millions-of-euro-to-cruel-greyhound-racing

Stop supporting the cruel greyhound “industry”
https://www.change.org/p/stop-supporting-the-cruel-greyhound-industry

GAA: Stop club fundraisers at greyhound tracks
https://www.change.org/p/gaa-stop-club-fundraisers-at-greyhound-tracks

Tell Gain Pet Nutrition to Stop Sponsoring Greyhound Racing
https://www.change.org/p/jimtracy-glanbia-ie-tell-gain-pet-nutrition-to-stop-sponsoring-greyhound-racing

Irish Government grants to greyhound racing

2001 €11,777,583
2002 €13,613,163
2003 €12,837,200
2004 €13,382,800
2005 €13,670,000
2006 €14,012,000
2007 €14,572,000
2008 €15,257,000
2009 €13,625,600
2010 €11,852,800
2011 €11,460,000
2012 €11,258,000
2013 €11,004,000
2014 €10,844,000
2015 €13,600,000
2016 €14,800,000
2017 €16,000,000
2018 €16,000,000
2019 €16,800,000
2020 €16,800,000
2021 €19,200,000

Total: €292 Million (€0.292 Billion)

Source: Department of Agriculture

Watch RTE’s award-winning “Greyhounds Running For Their Lives” documentary 

 

255 greyhounds injured and 90 killed at tracks in 2020 – Renewed calls on government to ban greyhound racing

There are renewed calls on the government to ban greyhound racing after the release today of shocking new statistics showing that 255 greyhounds suffered injuries and 90 were killed at tracks around Ireland in 2020

The latest Greyhound Racing Ireland (GRI) statistics – obtained by Independents 4 Change TD, Joan Collins (Dublin South Central) – confirm that there is no end to the suffering and death at tracks, with more than a third of all injured dogs being destroyed.

The high level of victims is particularly sickening, given that tracks were closed down for 12 weeks between 25 March and 17 June due to Covid19 restrictions.

The latest figures bring to 2,146 the number of greyhounds injured and 715 the number killed at Irish tracks since 2015.

Of the 90 greyhounds who lost their lives at tracks in 2020, 88 were destroyed by track vets and there were an additional 2 “racing fatalities”.

The Greyhound Racing Ireland statistics attempt to downplay the level of injuries and deaths, claiming that “the percentage of greyhounds injured is 0.37% of the 69,029 greyhounds raced with 0.13% of these greyhounds being euthanised”.

However the figure of 69,029 actually relates to race entries and not individual greyhounds. According to previously published GRI data, the number of greyhounds in the “racing pool” is 4,850. This means that the actual percentage of greyhounds injured and killed is around FOURTEEN TIMES HIGHER than the figures presented today, i.e. an estimated 5.25% of greyhounds were injured in 2020 (not 0.37% as claimed by GRI) and an estimated 1.8% of greyhounds were killed (not 0.13%).

The worst track for injuries in 2020 was Kilcohan Park Stadium in Waterford with 48 injuries recorded (10 of these dogs were destroyed). The next worst were Tralee with 29 injuries, Galway with 22 injuries and Limerick with 21 injuries. These include injuries to hock, wrist, front leg, back leg, hip, neck, shoulder, back, tail, tendons/muscles and toes.

The track with the hightest number of deaths was Mullingar where 12 greyhounds were “put to sleep by vet at track”. This was followed by Wateford with 10 deaths, Youghal and Curraheen Park with 9 deaths each and Thurles with 8 deaths.

The track with the highest percentage of injured dogs being destroyed was Youghal track where 82% of injured greyhounds didn’t make it out alive (11 injured and 9 killed). This is followed by Thurles track with 73% (11 injured, 8 killed) and Newbridge with 67% (9 injured and 6 killed).

It should be noted that the Greyhound Racing Ireland stats relate only to injuries and deaths which occurred at tracks and do not include the greyhounds injured at tracks and later killed elsewhere.

The track figures represent only the tip of the iceberg. As revealed in the award-winning “RTE Investigates: Greyhounds running for their lives” documentary, thousands of 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

A damning report which the Irish Greyhound Board attempted to hide, revealed that around 6,000 greyhounds are killed every year because they don’t make the grade. The report estimated that, for example, a total of 17,962 greyhounds were culled in 2013, 2014 and 2015. They were killed for “failure to produce qualifying times”, “failure to produce desired entry level times” and for an “unacceptable decline in performance”.

How many more dogs have to suffer and die before the Irish Government stops the massive state grants that are keeping nasty greyhound racing afloat? A RED C opinion poll commissioned by the Irish Council Against Blood Sports confirms that a two-thirds majority want the funding stopped, while petitions urging the government to end the funding have more than 400,000 signatures.

ACTION ALERT

STOP THE STATE FUNDING FOR GREYHOUND RACING

Since 2001, Greyhound Racing Ireland (formerly the Irish Greyhound Board) has been granted more than a QUARTER OF A BILLION EUROS, including €16.8 million for 2020 and another €19.2 million for 2021. This is unacceptable and must be stopped.

Please contact your local TDs and urge them to oppose this funding. Visit the Oireachtas website for contact details for TDs https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/tds/?term=/ie/oireachtas/house/dail/33

Urge the leaders of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, the Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour to stop the funding and back a ban on cruel greyhound racing

Micheál Martin TD
Leader, Fianna Fail
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Phone: 021-432 0088
Leinster House: 01–618 4350
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD

Leo Varadkar TD
Leader, Fine Gael
Telephone: 01-619 4020
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Tweet to: http://www.twitter.com/@LeoVaradkar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar

Eamon Ryan TD
Leader, Green Party
Tel: 01 618 3894
Email: eamon.ryan@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EamonRyanGP/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EamonRyan

Mary Lou McDonald TD
Leader, Sinn Fein
Tel: (01) 727 7102
Email: marylou.mcdonald@oireachtas.ie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaryLouMcDonald
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MaryLouMcDonaldTD

Alan Kelly TD
Leader, Labour Party
Tel: 067 34190
Email: alan.kelly@oir.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alankellytd/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/alankellylabour

“Stop state funding to cruel greyhound racing” – Email all Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour Party TDs.

Fianna Fáil TDs

john.mcguinness@oireachtas.ie; niamh.smyth@oireachtas.ie; brendan.smith@oireachtas.ie; aindrias.moynihan@oireachtas.ie; michael.moynihan.td@oireachtas.ie; micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; michael.mcgrath@oireachtas.ie; Charlie.McConalogue@oireachtas.ie; sean.haughey@oireachtas.ie; jim.ocallaghan@oireachtas.ie; darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie; jack@jackchambers.ie; anne.rabbitte@oireachtas.ie; eamon.ocuiv@oireachtas.ie; james.lawless@oireachtas.ie; sean.ofearghail@oireachtas.ie; sean.fleming@oireachtas.ie; barry.cowen@oireachtas.ie; willie.odea@oireachtas.ie; niall.collins@oireachtas.ie; Robert.Troy@oireachtas.ie; dara.calleary@oireachtas.ie; thomas.byrne@oireachtas.ie; marc.macsharry@oireachtas.ie; jackie.cahill@oireachtas.ie; mary.butler@oireachtas.ie; james.browne@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.murnaneoconnor@oireachtas.ie; cathal.crowe@oireachtas.ie; james.oconnor@oireachtas.ie; padraig.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; christopher.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; paul.mcauliffe@oireachtas.ie; john.lahart@oireachtas.ie; cormac@cormacdevlin.ie; normafoley1@eircom.net; joe.flaherty@oireachtas.ie; Stephen.Donnelly@oireachtas.ie

Fine Gael TDs

JohnPaul.Phelan@oireachtas.ie; Heather.Humphreys@oireachtas.ie; joe.carey@oireachtas.ie; david.stanton@oir.ie; colm.burke@oireachtas.ie; michael.creed@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Coveney@oireachtas.ie; joe.mchugh@oireachtas.ie; richard.bruton@oireachtas.ie; Eoghan.Murphy@oireachtas.ie; Paschal.Donohoe@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Farrell@oireachtas.ie; emer.higgins@oireachtas.ie; neale.richmond@oireachtas.ie; josepha.madigan@oireachtas.ie; colm.brophy@oireachtas.ie; leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.carrollmacneill@oireachtas.ie; Ciaran.Cannon@oireachtas.ie; hildegarde.naughton@oireachtas.ie; Brendan.Griffin@oireachtas.ie; bernard.durkan@oireachtas.ie; Martin.Heydon@oireachtas.ie; charles.flanagan@oireachtas.ie; kieran.odonnell@oireachtas.ie; Patrick.O’Donovan@oireachtas.ie; peter.burke@oireachtas.ie; fergus.odowd@oireachtas.ie; alan.dillon@oireachtas.ie; michael.ring@oireachtas.ie; helen.mcentee@oireachtas.ie; damien.english@oireachtas.ie; frank.feighan@oireachtas.ie; paul.kehoe@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Harris@oireachtas.ie

Green Party TDs

Eamon.Ryan@greenparty.ie; catherine.martin@oireachtas.ie; patrick.costello@oireachtas.ie; francisnoel.duffy@oireachtas.ie; neasa.hourigan@oireachtas.ie; brian.leddin@oireachtas.ie; steven.matthews@oireachtas.ie; malcolm.noonan@oireachtas.ie; joe.obrien@oireachtas.ie; marc.ocathasaigh@oireachtas.ie; roderic.ogorman@oireachtas.ie;
ossian.smyth@greenparty.ie

Sinn Fein TDs

john.brady@oireachtas.ie; pat.buckley@oireachtas.ie; Sean.Crowe@oireachtas.ie; david.cullinane@oireachtas.ie; Pearse.Doherty@oireachtas.ie; dessie.ellis@oir.ie; kathleen.funchion@oireachtas.ie; martinkennysf@gmail.com; MaryLou.McDonald@oireachtas.ie; denise.mitchell@oireachtas.ie; imelda.munster@oireachtas.ie; eoin.obroin@oireachtas.ie; donnchadh.olaoghaire@oireachtas.ie; aengus.osnodaigh@oireachtas.ie; louiseoreillysf@gmail.com; maurice.quinlivan@oireachtas.ie; Brian.Stanley@oireachtas.ie; mark.ward@oireachtas.ie; chris.andrews@oireachtas.ie; martin.browne@oireachtas.ie; matt.carthy@oireachtas.ie; sorca.clarke@oireachtas.ie; roseconwaywalsh@eircom.net; reada.cronin@oireachtas.ie; pa.daly@oireachtas.ie; paul.donnelly@oireachtas.ie; mairead.farrell@oireachtas.ie; thomas.gould@oireachtas.ie; johnny.guirke@oireachtas.ie; claire.kerrane@oireachtas.ie; padraig.maclochlainn@oir.ie; johnny.mythen@oireachtas.ie; ruairi.omurchu@oireachtas.ie; darren.orourke@oireachtas.ie; patriciaryan975@gmail.com; pauline.tully@oireachtas.ie; vwynne@gmail.com

Labour Party TDs

sean.sherlock@oireachtas.ie; aodhan.oriordain@oireachtas.ie; duncan.smith@oireachtas.ie; gerald.nash@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Kelly@oireachtas.ie; brendan.howlin@oireachtas.ie

GREYHOUND INJURIES AND DEATHS AT IRISH TRACKS (2020)

Clonmel: 11 injuries, 3 deaths
Curraheen Park: 18 injuries, 9 deaths
Dundalk: 10 injuries, 1 death
Enniscorthy: 15 injuries, 6 deaths
Galway: 22 injuries, 6 deaths
Kilkenny: 11 injuries, 3 deaths
Limerick: 21 injuries, 4 deaths
Longford: 2 injuries, 1 death
Mullingar: 19 injuries, 12 deaths
Newbridge: 9 injuries, 6 deaths
Shelbourne Park: 18 injuries, 3 deaths
Thurles: 11 injuries, 8 deaths
Tralee: 29 injuries, 7 deaths
Waterford: 48 injuries, 10 deaths
Youghal: 11 injuries, 9 deaths

Total 255 injuries, 88 deaths + 2 additional fatalities

Please sign and share the petitions

Irish Government: Stop Giving Millions of Euro to Cruel Greyhound Racing
https://www.change.org/p/irish-government-stop-giving-millions-of-euro-to-cruel-greyhound-racing

Stop supporting the cruel greyhound “industry”
https://www.change.org/p/stop-supporting-the-cruel-greyhound-industry

GAA: Stop club fundraisers at greyhound tracks
https://www.change.org/p/gaa-stop-club-fundraisers-at-greyhound-tracks

Tell Gain Pet Nutrition to Stop Sponsoring Greyhound Racing
https://www.change.org/p/jimtracy-glanbia-ie-tell-gain-pet-nutrition-to-stop-sponsoring-greyhound-racing

Irish Government grants to greyhound racing

2001 €11,777,583
2002 €13,613,163
2003 €12,837,200
2004 €13,382,800
2005 €13,670,000
2006 €14,012,000
2007 €14,572,000
2008 €15,257,000
2009 €13,625,600
2010 €11,852,800
2011 €11,460,000
2012 €11,258,000
2013 €11,004,000
2014 €10,844,000
2015 €13,600,000
2016 €14,800,000
2017 €16,000,000
2018 €16,000,000
2019 €16,800,000
2020 €16,800,000
2021 €19,200,000

Total: €292 Million (€0.292 Billion)

Source: Department of Agriculture

Watch RTE’s award-winning “Greyhounds Running For Their Lives” documentary

Greyhound Racing Ireland chairman “certain there will be fewer tracks in coming years”

The chairman of Greyhound Racing Ireland “is certain there will be fewer tracks around the country in coming years”, the Sunday Business Post reported at the weekend.

The newspaper featured a full page interview with GRI chairman Frank Nyhan, in which he acknowledged that “an awful lot of people…are instinctively against greyhound racing” and “we probably didn’t treat animals terribly well in the past”.

The article made reference to the RTE Investigates documentary which “revealed how 6,000 greyhounds were culled by the Irish industry every year because they were not fast enough” and reminded readers of one of the programme’s many harrowing scenes: “In a scene that still gets shared on social media by critics of the industry, the documentary shows one dog clearly nervous on arrival at the yard while the man who brought it waits in his van. A single shot is fired to the back of the dog’s head, and the man drives off after being handed the dogs’ collar, while his greyhound writhes for the last seconds of its life.”

Frank Nyan, who “grew up in Clonmel in a greyhound racing family” and is also State Solicitor for Cork City, was appointed a member of the Irish Greyhound Board in December 2015 along with then managing director of Bank of Ireland Finance Pat Creed (who subsequently resigned from the board). In 2018, the then Minister of State with responsibility for greyhound racing, Andrew Doyle (who lost his Dail seat in the 2020 General Election) confirmed that Nyhan had been appointed by then Agriculture Minister Micheal Creed (Fine Gael, Cork North West)

Read the full article at
https://www.businesspost.ie/sunday-interview/the-sunday-interview-frank-nyhan-13cf3856

A 2019 Indecon report commissioned by Greyhound Racing Ireland (formerly the Irish Greyhound Board) recommended the closure of tracks in Lifford, Longford, Enniscorthy, and Youghal. Lifford and Longford tracks subsequently shut down while the greyhound board disregarded advice to withdraw the funding which is keeping Enniscorthy and Youghal tracks afloat.

The Greyhound Owners and Breeders Federation predicted that Thurles, Newbridge and Mullingar would be next to close.

According to the Indecon report, even with the closure of tracks, “the sector would not be financially sustainable if the decline in attendance continues and if the existing cost base is not reduced.”

Attendance at greyhound tracks around Ireland fell by a massive 15,914 in the first two months of 2020, a separate Indecon economic report revealed. The report showed that more and more people are turning their backs on cruel greyhound racing and staying away from tracks.

Attendance has plummeted by more than 50 per cent in the past decade and the downward trend continued into 2020. In January and February 2020 respectively, numbers dropped by 7,232 (30%) and 8,682 (28%), compared to the same period the previous year.

The authors of the report stated that the “greyhound industry is likely to experience a continued decline in attendance levels” and that the decline will “CONTINUE OR ACCELERATE”.

“The greyhound racing industry in Ireland has witnessed a significant decline in attendance over the last decade,” the report outlined. “While 1.1 million attended races in 2008, this fell by 55% to just over 0.5 million by 2018.” 

ACTION ALERT

STOP THE STATE FUNDING FOR GREYHOUND RACING

Since 2001, Greyhound Racing Ireland has been granted more than a QUARTER OF A BILLION EUROS, including €16.8 million for 2020 and another €19.2 million for 2021. This is unacceptable and must be stopped.

Please contact your local TDs and urge them to oppose this funding. Visit the Oireachtas website for contact details for TDs https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/tds/?term=/ie/oireachtas/house/dail/33

Urge the leaders of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, the Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour to stop the funding and back a ban on cruel greyhound racing

Micheál Martin TD
Leader, Fianna Fail
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Phone: 021-432 0088
Leinster House: 01–618 4350
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD

Leo Varadkar TD
Leader, Fine Gael
Telephone: 01-619 4020
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Tweet to: http://www.twitter.com/@LeoVaradkar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar

Eamon Ryan TD
Leader, Green Party
Tel: 01 618 3894
Email: eamon.ryan@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EamonRyanGP/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EamonRyan

Mary Lou McDonald TD
Leader, Sinn Fein
Tel: (01) 727 7102
Email: marylou.mcdonald@oireachtas.ie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaryLouMcDonald
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MaryLouMcDonaldTD

Alan Kelly TD
Leader, Labour Party
Tel: 067 34190
Email: alan.kelly@oir.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alankellytd/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/alankellylabour

“Stop state funding to cruel greyhound racing” – Email all Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour Party TDs.

Fianna Fáil TDs

john.mcguinness@oireachtas.ie; niamh.smyth@oireachtas.ie; brendan.smith@oireachtas.ie; aindrias.moynihan@oireachtas.ie; michael.moynihan.td@oireachtas.ie; micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; michael.mcgrath@oireachtas.ie; Charlie.McConalogue@oireachtas.ie; sean.haughey@oireachtas.ie; jim.ocallaghan@oireachtas.ie; darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie; jack@jackchambers.ie; anne.rabbitte@oireachtas.ie; eamon.ocuiv@oireachtas.ie; james.lawless@oireachtas.ie; sean.ofearghail@oireachtas.ie; sean.fleming@oireachtas.ie; barry.cowen@oireachtas.ie; willie.odea@oireachtas.ie; niall.collins@oireachtas.ie; Robert.Troy@oireachtas.ie; dara.calleary@oireachtas.ie; thomas.byrne@oireachtas.ie; marc.macsharry@oireachtas.ie; jackie.cahill@oireachtas.ie; mary.butler@oireachtas.ie; james.browne@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.murnaneoconnor@oireachtas.ie; cathal.crowe@oireachtas.ie; james.oconnor@oireachtas.ie; padraig.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; christopher.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; paul.mcauliffe@oireachtas.ie; john.lahart@oireachtas.ie; cormac@cormacdevlin.ie; normafoley1@eircom.net; joe.flaherty@oireachtas.ie; Stephen.Donnelly@oireachtas.ie

Fine Gael TDs

JohnPaul.Phelan@oireachtas.ie; Heather.Humphreys@oireachtas.ie; joe.carey@oireachtas.ie; david.stanton@oir.ie; colm.burke@oireachtas.ie; michael.creed@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Coveney@oireachtas.ie; joe.mchugh@oireachtas.ie; richard.bruton@oireachtas.ie; Eoghan.Murphy@oireachtas.ie; Paschal.Donohoe@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Farrell@oireachtas.ie; emer.higgins@oireachtas.ie; neale.richmond@oireachtas.ie; josepha.madigan@oireachtas.ie; colm.brophy@oireachtas.ie; leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.carrollmacneill@oireachtas.ie; Ciaran.Cannon@oireachtas.ie; hildegarde.naughton@oireachtas.ie; Brendan.Griffin@oireachtas.ie; bernard.durkan@oireachtas.ie; Martin.Heydon@oireachtas.ie; charles.flanagan@oireachtas.ie; kieran.odonnell@oireachtas.ie; Patrick.O’Donovan@oireachtas.ie; peter.burke@oireachtas.ie; fergus.odowd@oireachtas.ie; alan.dillon@oireachtas.ie; michael.ring@oireachtas.ie; helen.mcentee@oireachtas.ie; damien.english@oireachtas.ie; frank.feighan@oireachtas.ie; paul.kehoe@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Harris@oireachtas.ie

Green Party TDs

Eamon.Ryan@greenparty.ie; catherine.martin@oireachtas.ie; patrick.costello@oireachtas.ie; francisnoel.duffy@oireachtas.ie; neasa.hourigan@oireachtas.ie; brian.leddin@oireachtas.ie; steven.matthews@oireachtas.ie; malcolm.noonan@oireachtas.ie; joe.obrien@oireachtas.ie; marc.ocathasaigh@oireachtas.ie; roderic.ogorman@oireachtas.ie;
ossian.smyth@greenparty.ie

Sinn Fein TDs

john.brady@oireachtas.ie; pat.buckley@oireachtas.ie; Sean.Crowe@oireachtas.ie; david.cullinane@oireachtas.ie; Pearse.Doherty@oireachtas.ie; dessie.ellis@oir.ie; kathleen.funchion@oireachtas.ie; martinkennysf@gmail.com; MaryLou.McDonald@oireachtas.ie; denise.mitchell@oireachtas.ie; imelda.munster@oireachtas.ie; eoin.obroin@oireachtas.ie; donnchadh.olaoghaire@oireachtas.ie; aengus.osnodaigh@oireachtas.ie; louiseoreillysf@gmail.com; maurice.quinlivan@oireachtas.ie; Brian.Stanley@oireachtas.ie; mark.ward@oireachtas.ie; chris.andrews@oireachtas.ie; martin.browne@oireachtas.ie; matt.carthy@oireachtas.ie; sorca.clarke@oireachtas.ie; roseconwaywalsh@eircom.net; reada.cronin@oireachtas.ie; pa.daly@oireachtas.ie; paul.donnelly@oireachtas.ie; mairead.farrell@oireachtas.ie; thomas.gould@oireachtas.ie; johnny.guirke@oireachtas.ie; claire.kerrane@oireachtas.ie; padraig.maclochlainn@oir.ie; johnny.mythen@oireachtas.ie; ruairi.omurchu@oireachtas.ie; darren.orourke@oireachtas.ie; patriciaryan975@gmail.com; pauline.tully@oireachtas.ie; vwynne@gmail.com

Labour Party TDs

sean.sherlock@oireachtas.ie; aodhan.oriordain@oireachtas.ie; duncan.smith@oireachtas.ie; gerald.nash@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Kelly@oireachtas.ie; brendan.howlin@oireachtas.ie

Please sign and share petitions

Irish Government: Stop Giving Millions of Euro to Cruel Greyhound Racing
https://www.change.org/p/irish-government-stop-giving-millions-of-euro-to-cruel-greyhound-racing

Stop supporting the cruel greyhound “industry”
https://www.change.org/p/stop-supporting-the-cruel-greyhound-industry

GAA: Stop club fundraisers at greyhound tracks
https://www.change.org/p/gaa-stop-club-fundraisers-at-greyhound-tracks

Tell Gain Pet Nutrition to Stop Sponsoring Greyhound Racing
https://www.change.org/p/jimtracy-glanbia-ie-tell-gain-pet-nutrition-to-stop-sponsoring-greyhound-racing

Irish Government grants to greyhound racing

2001 €11,777,583
2002 €13,613,163
2003 €12,837,200
2004 €13,382,800
2005 €13,670,000
2006 €14,012,000
2007 €14,572,000
2008 €15,257,000
2009 €13,625,600
2010 €11,852,800
2011 €11,460,000
2012 €11,258,000
2013 €11,004,000
2014 €10,844,000
2015 €13,600,000
2016 €14,800,000
2017 €16,000,000
2018 €16,000,000
2019 €16,800,000
2020 €16,800,000
2021 €19,200,000

Total: €292 Million (€0.292 Billion)

Source: Department of Agriculture

 

Irish horse trainer fined €1,000 after breaching COVID19 quarantine restrictions

A County Clare horse trainer has been “hit with a €1,000 fine and banned from attending any Irish race track for three months after breaching quarantine restrictions when returning from the UK and falsifying documentation to attend a behind closed doors race meeting”.

The Irish Independent has reported that Brian McMahon – “an All-Ireland minor hurling winner with Clare in 1997” – attended the Goffs Sales at Yorton Farm in the UK on December 17, but did not restrict his movements for five days when he returned to Ireland (specified at the time under the Government’s Covid-19 protocols).

“The Ennis trainer did not provide the negative Covid-19 test result needed before attending an Irish race meeting when saddling unplaced favourite Warreedy (3/1) in the Molony Cup Handicap Chase at Thurles races on December 20,” the Irish Independent report outlined. “McMahon also falsely completed the Health Screening Questionnaire to obtain the barcode necessary to attend when he answered ‘No’ to the question of whether he had travelled abroad in the previous 14 days with an Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) Referrals Committee convening earlier this week via Zoom to review the case.”

Read the full report in the Irish Independent
https://www.independent.ie/sport/horse-racing/trainer-brian-mcmahon-hit-with-three-month-ban-and-1000-fine-after-falsifying-documents-and-breaking-quarantine-rules-39948257.html

Another Irish horse trainer – Charles Byrnes – was fined €1,000 this month and had his licence suspended for six months after one of his horses tested positive for a banned substance.

The Irish Independent reported that “the Byrnes-trained Viking Hoard was pulled up at Tramore on October 18, 2018, after which a urine sample was found to contain [prohibited substance] hydroxyethylpromazinehydroxide (HEPS), a metabolite of acepromazine (ACP), which is a sedative.”

“Viking Hoard was found to be suffering a slow heart rate following the race and subsequent tests revealed HEPS was found in high enough concentration to exceed the International Screening Limit. The ISL is 10 nanograms/millilitre while the estimated detected level in Viking Hoard’s urine sample was 1000 nanograms/millilitre, or 100 times the applicable ISL,” the Irish Independent report outlined, adding that the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board Referrals Committee decided “the evidence showed that Viking Hoard was subject to a dangerous degree of sedation during the race, and the committee came to the conclusion the horse had been ‘nobbled’ by an unidentified third party when left unaccompanied.”

Cliodhna Guy, Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board head of legal, licensing and compliances, was quoted as stating: “it was not alleged that Mr Byrnes was directly involved in either the administration of ACP or the betting patterns, he had taken risks in discharging his responsibilities under the Rules that resulted in an extremely serious outcome from the perspective of the IHRB”.

The committee said that Byrnes was “seriously negligent in the supervision of Viking Hoard on the day of the Tramore race” and “significant actual damage flowed from the neglect of the trainer” – financial damage for punters and “reputational in the case of the racing industry”.

The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board ordered that Byrnes’ licence be withdrawn for six months and imposed a €1,000 fine. The IHRB said that it had “been advised that the trainer will be lodging an appeal against this decision”.

Read the full report at
https://www.independent.ie/sport/horse-racing/irish-trainer-hit-with-six-month-suspension-after-horse-tests-positive-for-banned-substance-39985219.html

Subscribe to the Irish Independent
https://subscribe.independent.ie/

ACTION ALERT

Don’t bet on horse racing or attend horse racing events.

Irish horse racing has received over a billion euros of taxpayers’ money since 2001, including €67.2 million for 2020 and €76.8 million for 2021. The government’s squandering of scarce public money on horse racing is particularly deplorable at a time when our country’s health and housing is in crisis and so many worthy causes are crying out for funds.

Urge Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe to end the funding.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin TD
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie
Phone: +353 (0)1–618 4350 or +353 (0)21-432 0088
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD

Paschal Donohoe TD
Minister for Finance
Email: paschal.donohoe@oireachtas.ie; minister@per.gov.ie
Phone: +353 (0)1 6045810
Leave a comment on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaschalDonohoe/
Tweet to @Paschald

Dublin City Councillors call for “COMPLETE BAN” on greyhound racing and an end to government funding

Dublin City Councillors have passed a motion calling on the government to end funding to cruel greyhound racing and ban the activity. 

The motion, presented by Cllr Noeleen Reilly (Independent) stated: “Dublin City Council calls on the government to immediately remove funding of €16.8 million to the greyhound industry and calls for a complete ban on racing. 6,000 dogs are killed inhumanely every year in Ireland as well as many more who suffer horrific abuse. In no way should this practice be tolerated and certainly not at the expense of taxpayers.”

Speaking during an online council meeting on Monday, Cllr Reilly outlined that her motion (originally submitted in June 2019) was prompted by the RTE Investigates documentary which exposed the horrors of greyhound racing in Ireland.

“The programme was horrific in that it highlighted what some had suspected for a long time – there is systematic animal abuse in the greyhound industry – an industry which is self regulated but propped up by the Irish taxpayer,” Cllr Reilly told the meeting, noting that greyhound racing “would not survive” without the massive annual government grants.

“The fact that the state can hand out such large amounts of money without any checks is criminal,” she added. “We are basically, in many cases, providing people with money to breed animals and then put them down if they do not meet a certain standard. Thousands of greyhounds are killed every year. It is alleged that the industry is breeding 1,000% more puppies than it needs which leads to large scale culling.”

She also pointed to “widespread drug abuse” and said that “we do not know what happens to many of the dogs when their racing days are over”.

“Ironically, rather than animal lovers, many in this industry are actually abusers of animals,” she added.

Condemning the ongoing government funding – nearly €300 million since 2001, including €16.8 million for 2020 and €19.2 million for 2021 – she said that the money would have been better spent on health and housing and tackling homelessness and domestic violence.

“Only for the Irish taxpayer, this industry wouldn’t exist,” she commented. “I do not believe that the Irish taxpayer wants to continue giving such large amounts of money to the industry. A RED C opinion poll showed that two thirds of the Irish public did not want this funding to continue, 16% did and 18% didn’t know. Many sponsors have pulled out in recent years from sponsorship of the greyhound industry but the biggest sponsor – the state – still remains.”

The motion was seconded by Cllr Cieran Perry (Independent) who said that although withdrawing funding would affect some jobs, “I’d argue that abusive industries cannot be condoned simply because of the risk of losing jobs.”

“The excellent RTE documentary exposed the reality of the greyhound industry and what I’m saying is that the state must stop subsidising greyhound abuse,” Cllr Perry said. “Cllr Reilly has already mentioned the question about the viability of the industry without state sponsorship. I think that’s a very good indication as to whether the industry should continue if it is totally dependent on state sponsorship, that there isn’t enough support from the general public to keep it going.”

Fianna Fail Councillor Deirdre Heney commended Cllr Reilly for the motion, describing it as “very appropriate”

“6,000 greyhounds killed every year, according to the RTE Investigates programme – this is completely unacceptable,” she stated. “There is huge amounts of taxpayers’ money being spent to invest in the greyhound industry, only for the greyhound industry to kill 6,000 animals. I am absolutely appalled that such a thing would occur and anything I can do to assist in the protection of animal welfare in our city, I want to do.”

Cllr Donna Cooney (Green Party) also spoke in favour of the motion, telling her fellow councillors that although the Green Party is opposed to the greyhound industry, they were unable to get a commitment to end the funding into the Programme for Government.

“We don’t regard it as a sport – it is a cruel industry,” she said. “It’s cruel on animals and it obviously doesn’t have the public support either. It shouldn’t be getting public support…We should be progressing as humanely as possible [so] that we don’t see the hurt of animals and the destruction of 6,000 dogs a year…”

Also supporting the motion was the Labour Party’s Cllr Dermot Lacey. “I know this is quite a divisive issue but I stand on the side of animal welfare and I want to commend Cllr Reilly for putting forward the motion,” he said. “I say this at a time when my own pet dog of 15 years passed away last Friday so I am quite sensitive about the issue of animal welfare at the moment. If we have 16 and a half million to spend on this industry, I believe that that money should be spent on animal welfare and animal care. I don’t see dog racing as a sport. Yes, there are jobs involved but I think we have to be more sensitive to the needs of animals and the animal community. I unhesitatingly support this motion.”

Cllr Hazel Norton of People Before Profit said that “the obvious fact that giving state funding to such an organisation for so long in such high volumes can’t go unquestioned.” She also drew attention to “abuse and lashback” received by those who have raised issues with the greyhound industry.

Pointing out that only “a very small percentage of the population” want the funding to continue, Cllr Tara Deacy (Social Democrats) acknowledged the work that party colleague Holly Cairns TD has done in the Dail to push for an end to the government grants.

“The €19.2 million that the greyhound industry receives this year will be more than six times what all animal welfare organisations receive in Ireland,” she observed. “Yet it’s animal welfare organisations that pay the majority of rehoming costs, etc. The ISPCA – the largest animal welfare organisation in the country has stopped engaging with the industry and I believe we in Dublin City Council should seek that our government reconsider funding and their relationship with this industry also.”

Fine Gael councillor, Anne Feeney, also gave her backing to the motion – “I know this is an issue that many people have many views on, and as Cllr Deacy said, an awful lot of good trainers mind their animals and have enjoyed this ‘sport’ over the last number of years. However, having said that, the welfare of animals has to be paramount here and on that basis, I’d like to support this motion.”

Sinn Fein disappointingly opposed the motion. The party proposed an amendment which, though acknowledging “abuse of dogs in the greyhound industry”, favoured the continuation of state funding. This amendment was rejected, with 36 councillors voting against it.

Cllr Noeleen Reilly’s motion calling for an end to the funding and a ban on greyhound racing was successfully passed, with majority support. Just three councillors voiced opposition to it – Nial Ring (Independent), Naoise O’Muiri (Fine Gael) and Anthony Connaghan (Sinn Fein). Fianna Fail councillor Keith Connolly abstained.

A big THANK YOU to Cllr Reilly for tabling the motion and to all the Dublin City Councillors who supported it. It’s now time for the Irish Government to listen to the majority and finally scrap the funding that is propping up this cruel, dog-killing activity.

Watch the RTE Investigates: Greyhounds Running for their Lives documentary

ACTION ALERT

STOP THE STATE FUNDING FOR GREYHOUND RACING

Since 2001, Greyhound Racing Ireland (formerly the Irish Greyhound Board) has been granted more than a QUARTER OF A BILLION EUROS, including €16.8 million for 2020 and another €19.2 million for 2021. This is unacceptable and must be stopped.

Please contact your local TDs and urge them to oppose this funding. Visit the Oireachtas website for contact details for TDs https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/tds/?term=/ie/oireachtas/house/dail/33

Urge the leaders of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, the Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour to stop the funding and back a ban on cruel greyhound racing

Micheál Martin TD
Leader, Fianna Fail
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Phone: 021-432 0088
Leinster House: 01–618 4350
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD

Leo Varadkar TD
Leader, Fine Gael
Telephone: 01-619 4020
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Tweet to: http://www.twitter.com/@LeoVaradkar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar

Eamon Ryan TD
Leader, Green Party
Tel: 01 618 3894
Email: eamon.ryan@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EamonRyanGP/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EamonRyan

Mary Lou McDonald TD
Leader, Sinn Fein
Tel: (01) 727 7102
Email: marylou.mcdonald@oireachtas.ie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaryLouMcDonald
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MaryLouMcDonaldTD

Alan Kelly TD
Leader, Labour Party
Tel: 067 34190
Email: alan.kelly@oir.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alankellytd/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/alankellylabour

“Stop state funding to cruel greyhound racing” – Email all Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour Party TDs.

Fianna Fáil TDs

john.mcguinness@oireachtas.ie; niamh.smyth@oireachtas.ie; brendan.smith@oireachtas.ie; aindrias.moynihan@oireachtas.ie; michael.moynihan.td@oireachtas.ie; micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; michael.mcgrath@oireachtas.ie; Charlie.McConalogue@oireachtas.ie; sean.haughey@oireachtas.ie; jim.ocallaghan@oireachtas.ie; darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie; jack@jackchambers.ie; anne.rabbitte@oireachtas.ie; eamon.ocuiv@oireachtas.ie; james.lawless@oireachtas.ie; sean.ofearghail@oireachtas.ie; sean.fleming@oireachtas.ie; barry.cowen@oireachtas.ie; willie.odea@oireachtas.ie; niall.collins@oireachtas.ie; Robert.Troy@oireachtas.ie; dara.calleary@oireachtas.ie; thomas.byrne@oireachtas.ie; marc.macsharry@oireachtas.ie; jackie.cahill@oireachtas.ie; mary.butler@oireachtas.ie; james.browne@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.murnaneoconnor@oireachtas.ie; cathal.crowe@oireachtas.ie; james.oconnor@oireachtas.ie; padraig.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; christopher.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; paul.mcauliffe@oireachtas.ie; john.lahart@oireachtas.ie; cormac@cormacdevlin.ie; normafoley1@eircom.net; joe.flaherty@oireachtas.ie; Stephen.Donnelly@oireachtas.ie

Fine Gael TDs

JohnPaul.Phelan@oireachtas.ie; Heather.Humphreys@oireachtas.ie; joe.carey@oireachtas.ie; david.stanton@oir.ie; colm.burke@oireachtas.ie; michael.creed@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Coveney@oireachtas.ie; joe.mchugh@oireachtas.ie; richard.bruton@oireachtas.ie; Eoghan.Murphy@oireachtas.ie; Paschal.Donohoe@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Farrell@oireachtas.ie; emer.higgins@oireachtas.ie; neale.richmond@oireachtas.ie; josepha.madigan@oireachtas.ie; colm.brophy@oireachtas.ie; leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.carrollmacneill@oireachtas.ie; Ciaran.Cannon@oireachtas.ie; hildegarde.naughton@oireachtas.ie; Brendan.Griffin@oireachtas.ie; bernard.durkan@oireachtas.ie; Martin.Heydon@oireachtas.ie; charles.flanagan@oireachtas.ie; kieran.odonnell@oireachtas.ie; Patrick.O’Donovan@oireachtas.ie; peter.burke@oireachtas.ie; fergus.odowd@oireachtas.ie; alan.dillon@oireachtas.ie; michael.ring@oireachtas.ie; helen.mcentee@oireachtas.ie; damien.english@oireachtas.ie; frank.feighan@oireachtas.ie; paul.kehoe@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Harris@oireachtas.ie

Green Party TDs

Eamon.Ryan@greenparty.ie; catherine.martin@oireachtas.ie; patrick.costello@oireachtas.ie; francisnoel.duffy@oireachtas.ie; neasa.hourigan@oireachtas.ie; brian.leddin@oireachtas.ie; steven.matthews@oireachtas.ie; malcolm.noonan@oireachtas.ie; joe.obrien@oireachtas.ie; marc.ocathasaigh@oireachtas.ie; roderic.ogorman@oireachtas.ie;
ossian.smyth@greenparty.ie

Sinn Fein TDs

john.brady@oireachtas.ie; pat.buckley@oireachtas.ie; Sean.Crowe@oireachtas.ie; david.cullinane@oireachtas.ie; Pearse.Doherty@oireachtas.ie; dessie.ellis@oir.ie; kathleen.funchion@oireachtas.ie; martinkennysf@gmail.com; MaryLou.McDonald@oireachtas.ie; denise.mitchell@oireachtas.ie; imelda.munster@oireachtas.ie; eoin.obroin@oireachtas.ie; donnchadh.olaoghaire@oireachtas.ie; aengus.osnodaigh@oireachtas.ie; louiseoreillysf@gmail.com; maurice.quinlivan@oireachtas.ie; Brian.Stanley@oireachtas.ie; mark.ward@oireachtas.ie; chris.andrews@oireachtas.ie; martin.browne@oireachtas.ie; matt.carthy@oireachtas.ie; sorca.clarke@oireachtas.ie; roseconwaywalsh@eircom.net; reada.cronin@oireachtas.ie; pa.daly@oireachtas.ie; paul.donnelly@oireachtas.ie; mairead.farrell@oireachtas.ie; thomas.gould@oireachtas.ie; johnny.guirke@oireachtas.ie; claire.kerrane@oireachtas.ie; padraig.maclochlainn@oir.ie; johnny.mythen@oireachtas.ie; ruairi.omurchu@oireachtas.ie; darren.orourke@oireachtas.ie; patriciaryan975@gmail.com; pauline.tully@oireachtas.ie; vwynne@gmail.com

Labour Party TDs

sean.sherlock@oireachtas.ie; aodhan.oriordain@oireachtas.ie; duncan.smith@oireachtas.ie; gerald.nash@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Kelly@oireachtas.ie; brendan.howlin@oireachtas.ie

Please sign and share petitions

Irish Government: Stop Giving Millions of Euro to Cruel Greyhound Racing
https://www.change.org/p/irish-government-stop-giving-millions-of-euro-to-cruel-greyhound-racing

Stop supporting the cruel greyhound “industry”
https://www.change.org/p/stop-supporting-the-cruel-greyhound-industry

GAA: Stop club fundraisers at greyhound tracks
https://www.change.org/p/gaa-stop-club-fundraisers-at-greyhound-tracks

Tell Gain Pet Nutrition to Stop Sponsoring Greyhound Racing
https://www.change.org/p/jimtracy-glanbia-ie-tell-gain-pet-nutrition-to-stop-sponsoring-greyhound-racing

Irish Government grants to greyhound racing

2001 €11,777,583
2002 €13,613,163
2003 €12,837,200
2004 €13,382,800
2005 €13,670,000
2006 €14,012,000
2007 €14,572,000
2008 €15,257,000
2009 €13,625,600
2010 €11,852,800
2011 €11,460,000
2012 €11,258,000
2013 €11,004,000
2014 €10,844,000
2015 €13,600,000
2016 €14,800,000
2017 €16,000,000
2018 €16,000,000
2019 €16,800,000
2020 €16,800,000
2021 €19,200,000

Total: €292 Million (€0.292 Billion)

Source: Department of Agriculture