South Devon Greyhound Action: updated 05/07/06
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing" (Edmund Burke).

South Devon Greyhound Action is a highly active group who successfully campaigned against and closed down the greyhound track at Newton Abbot. Our work as SDGA is by no means finished.

Devon Greyhound Action can be contacted by calling Helen on 07812 742232 or email us southdevonga@yahoo.co.uk or snail mail

PO Box 129
Plymouth
PL1 1RY

WILLIAM HILL DEMO SUCCESS

THE SOUTH DEVON GREYHOUND ACTION TEAM ARE DELIGHTED THAT THEIR RECENT EVENT IN TORQUAY (THE GREYHOUND DERBY DAY PROTEST) HAS BEEN FEATURED IN THEIR LOCAL PAPER-THE HERALD EXPRESS. HALF A PAGE WAS TAKEN UP WITH NOT ONLY THE ARTICLE BELOW BUT ALSO COLOUR PHOTOS OF THE EVENT. WILLIAM HILL WERE UNAVAILABLE TO COMMENT, PROVING THEIR SHAMEFUL GUILT.
GEMINI FM RADIO ALSO COVERED THE STORY WITH INTERVIEWS GOING OUT EVERY HOUR ON THE NEWS. THIS MEANS THAT THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ACROSS DEVON HAVE BEEN EDUCATED ABOUT THIS VILE AND EVIL INDUSTRY.

THIS EMAIL WILL BE RECEIVED BY MANY AR GROUPS ACROSS THE UK, THEREFORE IF ANYONE OUT THERE WOULD LIKE TO HELP THE GREYHOUND ACTION CAMPAIGN OR WOULD LIKE TO RUN A BRANCH IN THEIR OWN AREA PLEASE CONTACT GREYHOUND ACTION AT- info@greyhoundaction.org.uk YOU WILL RECEIVE ALL THE SUPPORT YOU NEED AND GA WILL BE AN EVEN BIGGER VOICE AGAINST THESE ANIMAL ABUSERS.

WE WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO ONCE AGAIN THANK EVERYONE WHO ATTENDED THIS EVENT.
THE GREYHOUND ACTION CAMPAIGN IS GOING FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH. SDGA LOOK FORWARD TO THE DAY IN THE NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE WHEN GREYHOUND RACING WILL BE A THING OF THE PAST.

TOGETHER WE WILL FIGHT AND WE WILL WIN!!!

BEST WISHES
THE SOUTH DEVON GREYHOUND ACTION TEAM.

Members of a South Devon Greyhound Action Group staged a noisy protest outside a William Hill betting chain outlet in Torquay.

They were demonstrating against the UK's biggest bookmaker's involvement in the greyhound dog racing industry. They staged the protest on one of the biggest horse racing days of the year so far - the running of the Vodafone Derby at Epsom.

Action Group spokeswoman, Helen Stevens said they wanted to end William Hill's association with the industry.

"William Hill is the UK's biggest bookmaker and puts millions of pounds into the greyhound dog racing industry.

"They own two greyhound dog racing stadiums at Newcastle and Sunderland, a digital racing channel and online betting.

"We are urging people to boycott the chain and put an end to its involvement in the dog racing industry.

"If we can persuade people not to attend or to bet on the dogs, the dog racing industry will be starved of the support and funds it needs and it will come to an end."

More than 20 members of the South Devon Greyhound Action Group waved banners and placards outside William Hill's betting shop at the bottom of Union Street.

Afterwards, they set up a stall outside the Union Square Shopping Centre to attract the attention of passers by.

There, they gathered more than 30 signatures in as many minutes for a nationwide petition and handed out information leaflets.

The group - which has 22 branches nationwide - claims that 40,000 greyhounds are bred every year in Britain and Ireland for the dog racing industry.

Every year, more than 10,000 greyhounds are 'retired' from the track when their racing days come to an end.

The group alleges the unwanted animals are then often cruelly treated by their owners and trainers.

Thousands of greyhound pups are put to death before the age of 12 months because they fail to reach a decent racing standard.

Many other dogs sustain serious injuries during races that force their owners and trainers to dispose of them.

Helen, 41, said: "Many ex-racing greyhounds are simply abandoned and a large number are killed - sometimes by extremely cruel methods such as beating, drowning or poisoning, because some owners and trainers are not prepared to pay the cost of having them put to sleep by a vet.

"The only way to prevent this massive suffering and slaughter of greyhounds is for greyhound racing to be abolished.

"If people don't attend, or don't bet on the dog racing, William Hill and the greyhound owners and trainers will not get the money they need and the industry will come to an end."

Action Group members from as far away as Taunton and Kidderminster attended the Torbay protest.

A William Hill spokesman was unavailable for comment.


SWAG

Following the closure of the Newton Abbot and Glastonbury tracks ... we are pleased to announce that South Devon Greyhound Action has joined with other GA groups in the south west to form South West Action for Greyhounds ( SWAG ) to campaign against the remaining two tracks in the south west area, beginning with the track at Swindon ... click here for full details on the campaign.

South Devon Greyhound Greyhound Action are delighted to be able to announce the closure of the local greyhound racing track in Kingsteignton, Newton Abbot.

The track will hold it's final race night on Friday
7th October 2005.

South Devon Greyhound Action have been effortlessly campaigning outside the track for the last 18 months as part of a national campaign against greyhound racing due to the cruelty involved. We have endeavoured to make our campaign consistent and attracted as much media attention as possible. We are delighted the greyhound track is closing as there is now one less track in the UK to support the greyhound racing industry, which is responsible for the deaths of thousands of dogs every year, not to mention the terrible injuries that greyhounds sustain whilst racing, some of them fatal.

Greyhound racing at Newton Abbot has been poorly supported in recent years, with race nights quite frequently cancelled due to lack of entries, but we are convinced that the series of well-publicised protests and other activities by South Devon Greyhound Action (SDGA) against the track has been a major factor in the decision to close it.

Like all dog tracks, Newton Abbot has been associated with the suffering and slaughter of greyhounds. In 2002, kennels belonging to a trainer who raced dogs there were closed down due to appalling conditions and 30 dogs rescued with the help of Greyhound Action supporters were all malnourished and infested with fleas and lice. For more info, particularly about one of the dogs later named "Twiggy" click here

In recent months SDGA have received disturbing information from someone closely involved with the Newton Abbot track, that some trainers have been shooting greyhounds considered no longer good enough for racing.

This has led to concern about the fate of the dogs now that the track is closing. We have contacted several local animal Rescue Centres and compiled a list of those Centres who are more than happy to assist with re-homing the dogs and we are appealing to the trainers via local radio and in the local Press to please contact these Centres and not have their dogs destroyed (this is so often the case with trainers once their dogs are no longer useful for racing, dogs are either euthanized by a vet or very often shot).

Helen Stevens, spokesperson for SDGA phoned Justin Leigh at BBC Radio Devon on Monday 3rd October and spoke for about five minutes live on air about our appeal to the trainers not to have their dogs destroyed. SDGA have also sent out 50 letters to local Vets asking them not to destroy any greyhounds because they are no longer needed for racing, instead we have informed them of local rescues who will welcome the dogs with open arms. There is absolutely no excuse for any of the dogs from Newton Abbot to be destroyed!!

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our supporters for so generously donating your spare time to attend our events during the last 18 months and to those of you who have helped to fund our campaign with your kind donations. Your support has been overwhelming and we feel that together as a team we have played some part in bringing about the closure of the Newton Abbot track.

Our work as SDGA is by no means finished. We will now be able to concentrate more on supporting Greyhound Action in the National campaign, however, we will continue to organize local events and stalls throughout the year, educating the general public about the cruelty involved in the industry and encouraging people not to bet on greyhound racing. We sincerely thank you for your continued support.

Best wishes

The team at SDGA

We are delighted to reproduce, below, a recent article from the Herald Express newspaper concerning the impending closure of the greyhound track at Newton Abbot.



END OF LINE FOR NEWTON DOGS

BY CONRAD SUTCLIFFE 29 September 2005

Greyhound meetings at Newton Abbot racecourse are being scrapped from the end of next week.

The last meeting at Newton Abbot will take place next Friday night after racecourse managers agreed a contract termination with operator Colin Authers. Dogs have raced at Newton Abbot for more than a quarter of a century, although the track dropped off the official National Greyhound Racing Club listings some years ago.

Losing its registration with the NGRC meant off-course betting facilities were removed, although punters could still gamble with bookies at the track.

Greyhound racing has been in decline for a number of years and the track at Newton Abbot is the last one in Devon or Cornwall still operating.

Greyhound racing ceased at Exeter County Ground around eight years ago.

Only 50 tracks are still running in the United Kingdom - and 20 of them are unlicensed.

Owners come from as far away as Bristol and South Wales to race their dogs at Newton Abbot's twice-weekly meetings.

Click here to see some of the history of the Newton Abbot campaign
SUCCESSFUL GREYHOUND DERBY DAY PROTEST IN TORQUAY








A group of nearly thirty protesters, many accompanied by rescued greyhounds attended a demonstration outside William Hill in Fleet Street, Torquay on Saturday 3rd June 2006.

The demonstration was organized by South Devon Greyhound Action as part of a National Day of Action against the bookmakers who were the sponsor for Saturday’s Greyhound Derby Day.

Helen Stevens from South Devon Greyhound Action said: “Greyhound Derby Day is the biggest event of the year for the bookmakers with regard to greyhound racing as this is when most bets are placed on the dogs. As part of a national campaign, we held a picket outside the William Hill betting shop in Fleet Street, Torquay where we displayed banners and posters and handed out leaflets to the general public encouraging them not to bet on the dogs and educating them about the terrible cruelty involved in the industry.

"The demonstration included a protest march through the centre of Torquay. The march was led by a supporter dressed as the 'Grim Reaper' who accompanied the group with the solemn beating of a drum, other supporters wore 'death masks' and carried banners and placards, handing out leaflets to passers-by, it was very visual and attracted a lot of attention. We ended the march in the Union Square shopping precinct where we set up an information stall with petition-signing against William Hill and the greyhound racing industry and received a large number of signatures.

“We were delighted with the positive response we received, we handed out a large amount of leaflets asking people to boycott William Hill and the general public were very sympathetic to our cause.

“Saturday's demonstration was in support of the 'Virtual Virtues' campaign, a national campaign launched by Greyhound Action UK, which is asking bookmakers to convert their live greyhound racing to a virtual (computerised) version.

"Virtual racing, which involves no suffering or slaughter, is becoming increasingly popular with punters and Greyhound Action believe that the majority of the general public once educated about the cruelty involved in the industry will support this version of greyhound racing.”

"Greyhound Action are currently focusing on William Hill as they are the biggest bookmakers in the UK with their online betting, high street betting shops, digital racing channel and the owner of two greyhound stadiums, pouring millions of pounds into the racing industry and therefore playing a major part in the killing of thousands of greyhounds every year."

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all supporters who attended Saturday's event, your help and support is always greatly appreciated.
We very much look forward to seeing you all again very soon.

Very Best Wishes,

The SDGA Team.

For further information please don’t hesitate to contact Helen Stevens on
07812 742232 or email us at southdevonga@yahoo.co.uk




Read on for more info on previous SDGA events:
SPONSORED WALK TO COMMEMORATE GREYHOUND PLANET - A GREAT SUCCESS!

 

Over twenty people, many accompanied by rescued greyhounds took part in a sponsored walk organised by South Devon Greyhound Action on Sunday 18th September 2005 in recognition of Greyhound Planet Week 12th – 18th September.

The walk which started at the Cider Press Centre in Dartington near Totnes led the supporters and their dogs through woodlands to a riverside path at Staverton where the walkers took a short break before making their return journey to Dartington.

Before, during and after their walk, the South Devon Greyhound Action supporters handed out leaflets to the general public.

Helen Stevens, spokesperson for South Devon Greyhound Action said "We wanted to arrange an event to mark Greyhound Planet Week which is an International event held every year in honour of the greyhound and it’s relatives (Galgos, Lurchers etc) throughout the world helping to raise awareness about the plight of these beautiful dogs.

"We all had a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon and all the dogs taking part got on so well together, we certainly got through plenty of poop bags!

"We are delighted with the support we have received for this event which was our very first sponsored walk. The group managed to raise over £1200 in sponsorship which will go towards our vital campaign work. The funds raised will also enable us to give a donation towards the national GA campaign which is growing bigger by the day.

"South Devon Greyhound Action is part of the national campaign to ban commercial greyhound racing due to the thousands of dogs that get destroyed every year once they are no longer considered suitable for racing, many of these dogs are only three years old when destroyed. Only recently three greyhounds were found in Ireland with their throats cut and their ears hacked off to remove identifying tattoos. Sadly these are not isolated cases, racing greyhounds are often found slaughtered or abandoned, many of them in an appalling condition. Thousands of injuries are also caused to greyhounds every year whilst racing on tracks in the UK, many of these are serious.

"Through our campaign work, we will continue to raise the general public’s awareness about the horrific cruelty and suffering these gentle-natured dogs are forced to endure. We are urging people to boycott greyhound racing and help us to bring an end to this needless death and suffering.”

"We are delighted with the tremendous amount of public support we have received."

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who took part in the walk and for raising such a terrific amount in sponsorships, we would also like to thank all the sponsors who donated so generously.

Read on to see some of the history of the Newton Abbot campaign:


Pictures from a recent demo outside the Newton Abbot track ... read on for a report on the demo.

DOZENS IN PROTEST AGAINST GREYHOUND RACING

About fifty people, many of them accompanied by rescued greyhounds and holding banners and placards, staged a demonstration and march in Newton Abbot on Saturday, May 28th, in protest against dog racing.

The demonstration was organised by South Devon Greyhound Action in support of Greyhound Awareness week, a national event held every year to educate the public about the suffering and killing of dogs caused by the greyhound racing industry.

Helen Stevens from South Devon Greyhound Action said: “We are delighted with the excellent turnout at this event and the huge support we received from the public.

"We held a forty-five minute demo outside the Newton Abbot greyhound track and then marched with our dogs, banners and placards to the town centre, where we distributed leaflets to the public and set up an information stall where people queued to sign our petition against greyhound racing. We received well over 100 signatures.

“The march, which was accompanied by the solemn beat of a drum, included a funeral procession to highlight the greyhound slaughter, with a life-size coffin and pallbearers, led by a Reverend with the ‘Grim Reaper’ following behind. Many of the marchers had rescued greyhounds with them and most people taking part wore black attire with purple ribbons in remembrance of all the dogs killed by the greyhound racing industry.

“The event was extremely visual and attracted a great deal of attention and sympathy from the public, with a considerable number of passing cars sounding their horns in agreement.

"We received excellent coverage of the event from many local newspapers and were interviewed by Gemini FM and Radio Devon. It was a very successful day, the people who took part in the demo were a great crowd and there was a wonderful feeling of unity as we marched together into the town centre.

"South Devon Greyhound Action would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who attended the demo on Saturday and for helping to make it such a success.

We very much look forward to seeing you all again at future events."