Condemned by their own words:

Greyhound breeder admits to slaughter

Richard Newell, a greyhound breeder living in Ireland (Co. Cork), has admitted, in posts made on Sunday 11 Nov 07, on the greyhoundscene pro dog racing forum, that large numbers of greyhounds are put to death before they even reach the UK tracks.

Some of his very revealing statements are below:

"I have two bitches (greyhounds) in my garage outside, some would say that's cruel making them live outside! I wil say go and feckin mind your own business and get a life!

“If I want to have my bitches put down I will, just like the farmer down the road if he has his sheep dog put down or kills one of his pigs, that ain't my business and it ain't no business of any anti.

“I think you all live in cloud cuckoo land if you think there aren't hundreds of greys put to sleep before they even reach the track in the UK. Hundreds of pups are too slow to grade, some don't chase others fight, injuries as pups etc etc. That is a fact, if you don't like it get out of the game.

“I am a realist............ and I am also knowledgeable enough to know that we pander to the anti's to much. Feck em! Let them come to my place here in Cork and see how my pups are reared and how my broods live their lives. I'd love to take out an anti down to the forest I go to every day with my pups in the hope my pups catch sight of something and chase it down and kill it. Sorry if that offends you but my pups are being bred to chase, and hunt and eventually show enough courage on a track to go through the rigours of racing.

“Fecks sake a greyhound is what it is. If you don't like the hard facts of quarry being hunted by greys or any other hunting dog then I think you is in the wrong game.

“I breed my pups If they don't or can't race then they have to go. Hard but true and not easy for me to take that trip to the vets but alas it has to be done otherwise before to long if every breeder were to keep every pup alive there would be thousands more greys being given away to abusers and the like because it would not be possible to rehome every one of them without real retirement options in place.

“Not only that there are still a great number of people, certainly in Ireland that see their greys as livestock and no more than that. A few have them rehomed but the majority are put down after their use is over. Again, hard true fact.

“And don't tell me that the majority of BAGS trainers see their inmates as anything other than livestock? I doubt the majority of BAGS dogs get a daily gallop out in a field or a hunt in a forest, more like 10 minutes emptying out twice a day and a trip to the local track once a week running lame for £15 to line the pocket of a caring Bookmaker

“I'm so glad I moved away from England. Where I live now there are folk out hunting with dogs most night's. Nobody where I live bothers the hunter or his dogs, in fact they are mostly welcomed onto their land to hunt.

“Our vet recognizes and readily accepts that my greys are bred for a purpose and are not pets. Whatever anti thought of the slogan "Greyhounds make great Pets" very clever, it's been dished out to the public so much they only associate the words Greyhound and Pet and there is your problem, the public now see greys as pets!“

Greyhound Action comment:-

Many may feel, from what he has to say, that Newell is a callous and evil animal abuser, but his honesty about the mass-slaughter that lies at the core of commercial greyhound racing has given us another nail to hammer into the coffin of the dog racing industry.

According to our research, about 15,000 greyhounds, bred for the British greyhound racing industry, are put to death before they even reach the tracks. Most of these dogs are bred in Ireland, and many of them are killed there, after being considered unfit for racing in Britain.

Although many of these dogs may never even reach our shores, the British greyhound racing industry is nevertheless responsible for their slaughter, as it is demand coming from the British tracks that has caused them to be bred in the first place.

Newell's comments reveal, once again, the connection between greyhound racing and bloodsports and the fact that many of those involved in the racing industry have little respect or consideration for animals of any kind.

BAGS stands for Bookmakers Afternoon Greyhound Service and applies to dog races run at many stadiums in the afternoon to cater for the needs of the betting shops. Dogs running in BAGS races tend to be slower than those taking part in the traditional evening races and are therefore treated as even more of a disposable commodity by the racing industry.


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