This Saturday, September 23rd, outside Leigh Animal Sanctuary, Graveoak, East Lancashire Road, Leigh (Greater Manchester) WN7 3SE from 11am - 2.30pm. Meeting at 10.45am in car park of nearby Greyhound Hotel.

Supporters of international greyhound protection group Greyhound Action will be holding a vigil this Saturday outside Leigh Animal Sanctuary in Lancashire in memory of the many thousands of greyhounds and other animals put to death there over the past 30 years.

Many of those taking part will be accompanied by rescued greyhounds and banners and placards, protesting against the greyhound racing industry and the mass-slaughter of dogs, will be displayed. At the start of the vigil, a minutes silence will be observed in memory of all the dogs and other animals killed at the Leigh Animal Sanctuary and the many thousands of greyhounds put to death every year in this country.

The Leigh slaughter was exposed in articles that appeared in the Sunday Times on September 17th and comes less than two months after media revelations about the mass killing of greyhounds by builder's merchant David Smith in Co. Durham. In recent years, several other similar cases have come to light and yet more are currently under investigation.

Tony Peters, Greyhound Action's UK coordinator, said: "This place at Leigh has no right to call itself an 'animal sanctuary'. It is little more than a slaughterhouse for greyhounds and other animals.

"Greyhounds and other dogs are being summarily executed there on payment of £35 and this isn't even being done by a veterinary surgeon.

"The treatment of those dogs that are not killed also leaves much to be desired. No home-checks are carried out, meaning that the dogs could end up with the most undesirable of characters, and dogs are not neutered or spayed before being sold, which will inevitably lead to more 'unwanted' animals being bred and subsequently put to death.

"However, with regard to the thousands of greyhounds that have been killed over the years at Leigh, the main culprit is not the Sanctuary, but the British greyhound racing industry, which creates a situation that leads to the inevitable slaughter of approximately 20,000 of these dogs every year.

"Commercial dog racing creates a huge demand for greyhounds to be bred to fuel the demands of the tracks and most of these dogs end up being 'put down' when their racing 'careers' are over or if they are judged not to be up to racing standard in the first place.

"We estimate that each major greyhound track in the country is responsible for the putting to death of at least 500 dogs every year. This includes Belle Vue in Manchester, which was named by the Sunday Times as being one of the tracks from which many of the greyhounds killed at Leigh had come from.

"The only way this mass slaughter of greyhounds can be stopped is for the greyhound racing industry to be done away with. This is why we are calling on the government to ban commercial greyhound racing and on the public not to attend or bet on dog races, so that this evil industry dies away through lack of financial support.

"In six states in the USA, commercial greyhound racing has been abolished in recent years, on account of the mass-killing of greyhounds that it causes.

"We would also like to see strict legislation controlling the activities of animal sanctuaries and dog rescue centres, making home-checking and the neutering and spaying of dogs compulsory."

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'We knew nothing about killing fields'

The racing industry has been thrown into turmoil after David Smith was accused of killing up to 10,000 dogs and burying them near his £220,000 detached house in Northdene Terrace.

The dad-of-three, who runs a builder's merchant and newsagent's in Lord Street, charged £10 a time to shoot dogs, allegedly for 40 trainers, because they were too old to race and too expensive to home.

Animal rights campaigners said they believe most of the slaughtered dogs would have been raced at Sunderland and Brough Park stadiums ­ both owned by bookmaking giant William Hill.

"William Hill knew about this," said Tony Peters, of Greyhound Action. "They've know for years this guy Smith has been killing dogs that come from their tracks."

The firm denied the allegations.

A spokesman said: "William Hill stadia hosts a responsible and regulated sport and has no reason to believe that any owners or trainers from our tracks have been involved with this activity.

"We find the revelations abhorrent and will welcome and support any investigation into the activity to identify any miscreants who may have chosen to euthanase their greyhounds by these means.

"Should an investigation identify any individuals have raced greyhounds at our tracks and who have then engaged in this activity, these individuals will be banned from having any further association with our tracks immediately and will be reported to the NGRC (National Greyhound Racing Club, which regulates 31 licensed tracks)."

Durham police have twice spoken to Mr Smith since revelations of his activities came to light over the weekend

A spokesman said: "We have received no specific complaints about Mr Smith's activities and we have no concerns about the bolt gun and we have now established it is quite legitimately held."

On whether the alleged mass dog grave posed a public health hazard, District of Easington Council said: "We will be working with the Environment Agency to ensure there will be no long-term contamination of the land at Mr Smith's home.

"There are potential health issues surrounding the disposal of animal carcasses and we would therefore strongly advise people to use pet crematoriums or contact the council for further advice."

The NGRC said its North East stipendiary steward Eric Vose would investigate.

But Greyhound Action fears any investigation may be worthless unless the one-acre plot where Mr Smith allegedly buried 10,000 dogs is dug up.

Death threats to dog killer

DOG killer David Smith has been forced to boost security at his Seaham home after receiving death threats.

Since the allegations were made against the businessman, malicious phone calls have been made to his businesses and Northdene Terrace home.

Some of the sinister calls were answered by Mr Smith's wife Maureen and his daughter.

To protect his property and family, Mr Smith hurriedly installed CCTV, floodlights and other security measures after the allegations received national attention.

"I am devastated by all of this," said the East Durham builder's merchant.

Durham police said they were not aware of any death threats, but confirmed the Smiths had received a number of malicious phone calls.

Killings 'common knowledge'

PEOPLE in Seaham have backed David Smith, who has received death threats for allegedly killing thousands of greyhounds.

Many people said it was common knowledge dogs were being put down.

"Everybody in Seaham knows what he does" said Frank Prest, of Seaham Pet and Garden Centre. "And have done for a long time.

"As long as he's doing it humanely, he's providing a service. If he didn't do that, they would just smack them over the head with a brick."

Deborah Rochester, 29, from Ropery Walk, said: "I don't agree with the methods he's using but I can't see why everyone is putting up a fuss about it now because he's been doing it for years."

Her friend Angela Peel, 30, from Dawdon, said: "He's not doing anything illegal and people have been using him for years."

They both said greyhound owners should take more responsibility for their dogs.

Pauline Yates, 41, from Seaham, agreed. "It's up to the owners to look after them until they die," she said.

Fifty-year-old Alan Savage, from Parkside, also said blame for the situation should lie with the owners. "It should be the owners held up as well, not just Dave Smith. They're the ones making money off the dogs then just getting rid of them."

Racing told to clean up its act

THE greyhound industry has been told to "clean its act up" by the Government.

Animal Welfare Minister Ben Bradshaw said killing a dog with a bolt gun breached the rules of the National Greyhound Racing Club.

"The National Greyhound Racing Club must launch an immediate investigation," he said. "It must discipline or expel any members who have broken its rules by disposing of their dogs in this way."

"The Government believes racing greyhounds should only be put down by a vet.

"We have long felt self-regulation within the greyhound industry is the most effective way of policing animal welfare.

"If they can't clean up their act, Government will intervene."

Meanwhile, campaigners have called for commercial greyhound racing at stadiums such as Sunderland and Easington to be scrapped.

Greyhound Action says replacing real dogs with computer-generated virtual racing is the only way to ensure thousands of greyhounds a year do not end up prematurely killed.

DOG RACE GROUP STAGES PROTEST http://www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk/new/util/content.jsp?id=14720325

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.

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.

Jenny the Greyhound is dumped as day at the races turns ugly

Furious animal welfare campaigners have been left holding the proverbial baby after a greyhound trainer dumped one of his animals on them following a protest at a Somerset racetrack.

What was meant as a peaceful protest against the industry's treatment of its animals descended into a nasty confrontation with alleged clashes between the protesters and dog trainers at the last meeting of the year at the Abbey Moor Stadium, near Glastonbury.

One protester claims she was shoved by one dog trainer who went on to throw their demonstration placards into a nearby river.

Demonstrators say another trainer then threatened to shoot his own dog in front of them if it failed to win its race.

And, in a bizarre twist, the Avon and Somerset Greyhound Action group ended up leaving the track with a dog of its own, claiming that after the meeting yet another trainer had simply handed over one of his stable saying it was 'no use to him anymore'.

The hapless race dog, a 19-month-old called Jenny, is now in the care of one of the campaigners, who - like the track owners - were yesterday seething about the dramatic events of Tuesday night.

The confrontation unfolded outside the stadium that has been the target for a series of protests by the Avon and Somerset Greyhound Action group since it started staging races in October.

Some 20 demonstrators gathered at the entrance and were handing out leaflets when punters, dog owners and trainers arrived.

Event organiser Derren Sealey said he was unaware of any assault, although he agreed one dog racer, who said his car had been kicked by demonstrators, had confronted the crowd and thrown some of their display boards into the river.

Mr Sealey said tensions had been heightened by vandalism at the stadium over Christmas, with attacks on the track's tractor, sabotage to its racing hare and threatening graffiti sprayed on the wall claiming to be from the Animal Liberation Front.

The protesters at the scene on Tuesday have strongly denied any connection with the acts of vandalism and criminal damage.

Police confirmed only two people were arrested as a result of the drama at the stadium gates - a female campaigner and her 15-year old son.

She was arrested for swearing and paid a £80 fine after pleading guilty to a public order offence while her son, who had wrestled with police officers as he tried to help his mother, received a caution.

Gna Harris, from Bristol, said she had lodged a formal allegation of assault with police. "It was shocking, not what we had expected or wanted at all, " she said.

"Several of them had dogs with them, and one said, 'Right, if my dog doesn't win tonight, I'm going to bring it out and shoot it in front of you all'. It was disgusting that someone would even say they were going to do it, even if they were just trying to wind us up. We knew nothing of any vandalism, we are a 100 per cent peaceful and lawful group who would never have anything to do with anything like that."

The campaigners remained outside the stadium throughout the meeting and at one point there were as many as five police patrol cars at the scene.

Yesterday, Mr Sealey, who runs the greyhound races with Gavin Loney, said Tuesday's meeting almost had to be cancelled because of the criminal damage.

He admitted some trainers had been upset on hearing what had happened, but said as far as he was aware, the only serious trouble had been between police and protesters.

"When we arrived in the morning, we found someone had slashed the tyres on the tractor and put sand into its diesel tank, " he said.

"Three fan belts that run the hare had been cut and someone had sprayed down one of the walls 'close the track, or we'll be back' and signed it 'the ALF'.

"What had happened had upset most of the trainers who knew about it, then when they came in, they were confronted by all these people with their banners trying to stop them getting in.

"One of those trying to drive in says they blocked his way and when he tried to carry on, they kicked his car. He's quite a big chap and he got out and approached them and threw some of their signs in the river."

An Avon and Somerset police spokesman said: "Two people were arrested on suspicion of public order offences and taken to Yeovil police station. A juvenile was later released with a caution and a woman was given a fixed penalty notice."

You can see from this how the evil nature of many of those who take part in greyhound racing was well and truly revealed that night. Some of the trainers at the track had been seen (by anti-bloodsports campaigners) the previous day at a meet of the Mendip Farmers Hunt, providing further evidence that they are animal abusers through and through and that their wickedness towards other creatures is not just limited to greyhounds. Jenny, the greyhound who was handed over to the campaigners, was thin, traumatised and suffering from several racing injuries (including a deep gash on one of her front legs), some of which had been sustained earlier that evening. She also had an old injury to the middle of her back which, according to a vet who examined her later, was consistent with her having been hit with some sort of object. Thankfully, she is now being well cared for in a permanent loving home, where she is putting on weight and being nursed back to health. She is pictured (left) shortly after being rescued. In view of the behaviour of the greyhound trainers, it's quite understandable that one of the protesters should resort to swearing and we regard it as deplorable that the police arrested her and her son, especially considering that they failed to apprehend the vicious thug who attacked another of the demonstrators. Although Greyhound Action operates completely legally and ours is a campaign of public education and lawful protest, we wish to make it clear that we are in no way critical of the actions of the Animal Liberation Front. In our view, those who abuse and persecute animals have no right even to walk the Earth, so we are hardly going to be perturbed at damage being caused to their property. Also, it would be disingenuous in the extreme to pretend that the ALF attack on the stadium hasn't added to the pressure on the owner to bring greyhound racing there to an end. If you would like to help their campaign to close the Glastonbury dog track, you can contact Avon & Somerset Greyhound Action at avonsomersetga@yahoo.co.uk or on 07899 715216 or click here for more info about the group or more info about the campaign can be found here Take action now: The above article can be found on the Western Daily Press website at http://tinyurl.com/cxgat together with a box where you can leave your comments ... please feel free to do so.

Memorial for abused greyhound
May 2 2005
Gareth Morgan, Western Mail

A MEMORIAL has been held for a greyhound found mutilated and abandoned on a Welsh mountain this time last year.

The black male greyhound, later found to have been called Rusty, was discovered by a dog walker who heard him whimpering in agony in a rubbish tip on Fochriw Mountain in the Rhymney Valley.

Rusty had been injured in several ways, including being shot in the head with a captive-bolt pistol, and his ears had been hacked off because they bore tattoos that could identify him.

Remarkably, Rusty was still alive, and wagging his tail, but his injuries were so extensive that he was later put to sleep by a vet.

Yesterday a special Remembering Rusty ceremony was held at the place on Fochriw Mountain where he was found.

The Reverend James Thompson, founder of Christians Against All Animal Abuse, officiated at the ceremony and laid flowers in the dog's memory.

Campaigners, who brought along rescued dogs, said the greyhound racing industry is too cruel and want the three dog tracks in South Wales closed.

Tony Peters, Greyhound Action's UK co-ordinator, said, "Sadly, this case is just the tip of a very large iceberg. Reports by both the All Party Group for Animal Welfare in the Welsh National Assembly and Greyhound Rescue Wales suggest that hundreds of greyhounds are discarded and killed, often by shooting, in the region every year, when no longer required by the racing industry.

"We are asking the public not to attend or bet on dog racing, so it dies out through lack of financial support."

At Caerphilly Magistrates Court on December 22, Andrew Gough was sentenced to six months imprisonment for torturing Rusty and banned from keeping animals for life.

It emerged during Gough's trial that Rusty's owner and trainer had handed him over to Gough to kill, after a toe injury had ended the greyhound's racing career.

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."

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

GA Demo at William Hill AGM
Covent Garden, London, Thursday, May 19th
Shareholders urged to reject dog racing

Supporters of Greyhound Action, holding banners and placards and accompanied by rescued greyhounds, staged a picket on Thursday, May 19th outside the William Hill AGM at the Covent Garden Exhibition Centre in London, where they leafletted shareholders going into the meeting as part of a campaign to persuade the company to cease its involvement in greyhound racing and concentrate on humane alternatives, such as virtual (computerised) racing, instead.

One demonstrator was dressed as the Grim Reaper to draw attention to the mass slaughter of dogs caused by the greyhound racing industry.

The demo attracted a considerable amount of publicity, including a piece on Sky News and a lengthy feature on Radio 2's Jeremy Vine Show, which has increased support for our campaign to put an end to commercial greyhound racing.

William Hill, Britain's largest bookmaker, already owns two greyhound stadiums (at Sunderland and Newcastle-upon-Tyne) and is rumoured to be about to purchase a third. In addition, the company pours millions of pounds into greyhound racing every year, through its betting-shops, on-line betting and digital racing channel.

All this means that William Hill bears a large responsibility for the tragic fate of many thousands of greyhounds that suffer and die at the hands of the dog racing industry every year.

With many William Hill shareholders being, almost certainly, unaware of the death and suffering caused by the dog racing industry, we wanted to educate them about this and persuade them that, morally and financially, it would be better for the company to disengage from greyhound racing.

Virtual racing is rapidly increasing in popularity, whereas the greyhound racing industry has been in decline, with dozens of tracks closing in recent years - a process that is likely to continue as more and more people become aware of the tragic fate of so many of the dogs involved.

For this reason, it would make sound economic sense for William Hill to transfer its resources from live greyhound racing to its virtual equivalent, and thousands of dogs would be spared from suffering and an untimely death in the process.

By Jonathan Brown 17 January 2005