Dear GC members,
Here is an on-line preview of an article in today’s Sunday Times about the
massive scale of the injury statistics on British greyhound racetracks.
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/article1522378.ece?CMP=OTH-gnws-standard-2015_02_21
This underlines the importance of signing the League Against Cruel Sports petition :
The petition calls for strengthened legal
protection for racing greyhounds.
We need to reach 100,000 signatures so that this matter can be debated in
Parliament. Please circulate to your contacts.
Please also write to your MP to draw his/her
attention to the Sunday Times article and the need for independent
regulation. Some useful tips for the letter are below:
In
March 2010 the government published the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations
(2010). Statutory regulations were brought in under the Animal Welfare Act
2006 which became legally binding
in England on 6 April 2010. The
statutory regulations are limited in scope and allow the industry to
regulate itself. The regulations are due to be reviewed in 2015. An independent body has to oversee
regulation.
Please
urge your MP to call for the following:
- An independent body to oversee regulation of the greyhound racing industry.
- Transparency about breeding, import/export, transport, kennelling, injuries, retirement, rehoming and euthanasia.
- There should be full public disclosure of all regulatory and enforcement activity within the industry.
- The use of testosterone to suppress oestrus, and anabolic steroids, should be prohibited.
- There should be a system that allows tracking of every dog from birth.
- There should be a statutory requirement for tracks, trainers and owners to rehome all greyhounds bred for racing.
- There should be a licensing regime for British breeders together with joint initiatives between DEFRA and the devolved nations of the UK and Irish government over breeding and the trade in greyhounds.
A
Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) report by the Independent Anti-doping
and Medication Control Review in 2010 acknowledged anecdotal
evidence that cocaine has been witnessed being administered to greyhounds to
create a rush just before entering the traps. Reprimands have been issued
to trainers found guilty of doping. The GBGB should also be reporting
these offences to the police. Surely the racing industry should be
concerned about the presence of prohibited substances in an environment which is
marketed as entertainment. Trackside audience includes very young
children and teenagers circulating around the greyhound stadium where alcohol
and betting are part of the fabric of the track’s customer
experience.
Regards
Greyhound
Compassion
