Browse Sections

• Education
• Special reports

Racers hit back over cruelty claims

18/ 4/2008

ANIMAL rights campaigners have set up an action group to call for the closure of the historic Belle Vue dog track.

The group Greyhound Action blame the dog racing industry for what they describe as the "wholesale slaughter" of greyhounds once they have stopped racing.

And they are holding a series of demonstrations to try to force the Gorton track - the first official dog racing circuit in Britain when it opened in 1926 - out of business.

UK coordinator, Tony Peters, said: "Our research indicates that over 15,000 greyhounds - bred for the British dog racing industry - are put to death every year after being considered 'not good enough' for racing, or when their 'careers' on the track come to an end, either through age or injury.

"Greyhound Action believes that the only real solution to this horrific state of affairs is for the greyhound racing industry to be brought to an end."

The industry has consistently denied any wrongdoing and a spokesman for the Greyhound Racing Association (GRA), which runs Belle Vue along with five other racetracks across the country, criticised Greyhound Action for trying to "tarnish 99 per cent of people" involved in the sport.

GRA general manager Stephen Rea said: "This group who - apart from their spokesman are anonymous people and seem to number around 20 or 30 individuals - are trying to threaten the livelihoods of thousands of hard working and dedicated people.

"We are fully aware of our welfare responsibilities and 99 per cent of people involved in greyhound racing love greyhounds.

"As in all walks of life, there will be some people who are an exception. To point to one or two isolated incidents of animal cruelty and try and tarnish the other 99 per cent of people is both unfair and an insult to every intelligent-minded person who realises that injured or abused animals would be of no use to the sport."

He said a small number were humanly put to sleep at the end of their racing careers because of injury or because they were too aggressive to be rehomed, which was a requirement under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

He added: "Only 10,000 greyhounds a year are bred for the UK industry and they (Greyhound Action) completely ignore the fact that the Retired Greyhound Trust - run by the industry to the tune of £2M a year - found homes for over 5,000 retired greyhounds last year.

"The majority of the remaining 5,000 either go home with their owners at the end of their racing careers or stay with their trainers in kennels until they die of old age."