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TOUGHER INSPECTIONS AND funding for injured greyhounds have all been promised by the Irish Greyhound Board following an RTÉ investigation that indicated that thousands of greyhounds were killed in 2017 because they weren’t fast enough.
The RTÉ Prime Time Investigates programme claimed that the greyhound industry is breeding 1,000% more puppies than it needs, leading to a cull of thousands of racing dogs every year.
Today, the board of the Irish Greyhound Board approved new measures it said would help stifle illegal activity and help protect greyhound welfare in the industry.
Among the range of reforms approved is the introduction of a greyhound injury support scheme to provide financial assistance to injured greyhounds as well as a commitment to provide increased support for the board’s greyhound foster scheme.
Its inspection regime will also be “intensified”, the board said.
The board also said that it would revise the industry’s code of practice on the care and welfare of greyhounds to address all issues with the retirement and transportation of greyhounds.
On Thursday, the Irish Greyhound Board told TheJournal.ie that it strongly condemned the practices outlined in the Prime Time programme and said it represented “a minority within the industry”.
The Chairman of the Irish Greyhound Board, Frank Nyhan, re-iterated those comments today.
“The actions evident by an irresponsible minority within the greyhound industry have no place in this sport and will not be tolerated. The IGB will continue to work with all agencies to ensure that such illegal activity is rooted out and those responsible are subject to prosecution for breaches of the law,” he said in a statement.
Nyhan also promised more regulation for the greyhound racing sector, which is set to receive €16.8 million in funding this year with supports coming from the Department of Agriculture.
Other measures set to be introduced include putting in law the requirement that euthanasia of a greyhound must be carried out by a veterinary practitioner – something already required by the industry’s code of practice – and the establishment of a phone line to encourage reporting of welfare violations.
The Board said it will also carry out an “indepth” review of the Prime Time programme and will be requesting more evidence from RTÉ so that “any breaches of the law can be pursued”.
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If the stream is so polluted and the only solution is deemed to be the use of bleach, there is something very wrong with the council employees’ thought processes.
Tracking and stopping the source of the pollution in a stream would be too much trouble.
@Bramley Hawthorne: This is Water infrastructure, you start from the symptoms and work back, then give up and just keep paying lip service to the symptoms regardless of the actual state of things. In fairness we’re lucky they didn’t just start charging for use of the beaches.
Insane. These streams might be polluted, well lets make sure and dump a load of chemicals into them. And these people are in charge…?
I’d rather buy a bottle of water in aldi. Haven’t drank water from a council running tap for years now. Always boil yer water folks just for safe measure.
I’ve been saying about the amount of chlorine in our drinking water for years now it’s disgusting it smells like a swimming pool. Then add a dose of fluoride, have had to buy bottled water for about 12 years now maybe more!
@Colette Kearns: i regularly test water mains for chlorine as a control test for testing the chlorine levels of a spa swimming pool, Ive never had the control test show the presence of chlorine. Mind you thats not to say there aren’t other chemicals present such as flouride
@G man: a sane response on jouranal! I must be getting old..
@Colette Kearns: I use a reverse osmosis filter for all drinking and cooking water. The last time I did an analysis the water rain in the rain butt was purer than the unfiltered tap water.
@G man: Not sure what source the spa is taking water from, but chlorine is added to virtually all public water supply with the exception of some group water schemes.
@David Dineen: yea you are you look ancient
Waterford has backed it’s own decision but it is time to reconsider. It is a stream not a swimming pool. And be a bit more transparent also. Someone shouldn’t have to smell bleach for this issue to come to light.
Crazy! Work upstream with a testing kit and eliminate the sourc(es) of the pollution “disinfecting” a living stream is an obscenity.
Are you for real??
Hazard Statement H400. ” Very Toxic to aquatic life”. That’s from the Material Safety Data Sheet for Sodium Hypochloride. Case Closed.
@Glen Kearns: Aloho is listened as a poison but people drink in in lesser strengths. Same with this stuff.
“now hands that do dishes can feel soft as your face”… because chemicals are melting them. Lol.
have your say