Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 January 2015
89. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will report on measures taken to ensure that greyhounds bred for racing but not used for racing are not destroyed or mistreated; the number of incidents that have been investigated in 2011 to 2014, inclusive; if he will report on any investigations into destruction of identification of greyhounds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3123/15]
View answerBord na gCon is a commercial State body, established under the Greyhound Industry Act 1958, charged with the regulation and development of the greyhound racing industry. The Welfare of Greyhounds Act 2011 specifies standards for greyhound welfare, establishes a register of Greyhound Breeding Establishments and regulates their operation. A Code of Practice in the care and welfare of the greyhound has been established and published by Bord na gCon as per the requirements of the Welfare of Greyhounds Act 2011. The primary objective of the Code of Practice is to set standards and clearly define what is expected of all individuals engaged in the care and management of registered greyhounds. As per the Code of Practice, in the event of the need for euthanasia, it must be undertaken as soon as practicable to avoid unnecessary suffering and shall be carried out in a humane way by a veterinary practitioner.
Greyhound welfare at Bord na gCon is managed by the Welfare Manager who can call upon three area stipendiary stewards and thirteen control stewards to conduct investigations of stray or mistreated greyhounds, conduct kennel inspections and investigate other welfare related incidents which have been reported to Bord na gCon. The Welfare Manager, all area stipendiary stewards and all control stewards have been appointed by Bord na gCon as Welfare Officers under the Welfare of Greyhounds Act 2011.
Bord na gCon established a Welfare Committee comprising representatives from the breeding, racing, coursing, veterinary, bookmaker and adoption/homing sectors in 2009. The aim of the Welfare Committee is to improve the care and management of racing, coursing and retired greyhounds by identifying problems and proposing solutions to a range of greyhound welfare issues over the whole lifecycle of a greyhound. The Welfare Committee also discuss greyhound welfare/neglect cases and recommend appropriate sanctions to be imposed on individuals who, following investigation, have been identified as being in breach of the Welfare of Greyhounds Act 2011. The Welfare Manager of Bord na gCon has recently been in contact with the ISPCA requesting that they report all cases of greyhound cruelty/neglect/mistreatment, which they have discovered, to Bord na gCon so that the matter can be fully investigated.
Bord na gCon through its registered charity the Retired Greyhound Trust (which it established in 1997) encourages greyhound owners to rehome their greyhounds following their retirement from racing. The Retired Greyhound Trust is actively involved in promoting retired greyhounds as pets in Ireland through the organisation of retired greyhound shows. The Retired Greyhound Trust collaborates and supports, through the provision of financial assistance, a number of re-homing agencies in Ireland, Europe and North America who are involved in the re-homing of retired Irish greyhounds.
The number of Welfare incidents that have been investigated are:
2011: 6 investigations
2012: 16 investigations
2013: 8 investigations
2014: 15 investigations
The Irish Coursing Club have issued four fixed payment notices to individuals who, following investigations, have been identified as being in breach of the Welfare of Greyhounds Act 2011. The Welfare Committee recently recommended that the ICC issue a further seven fixed payment notices to individuals who, following investigations, have been identified as being in breach of the Welfare of Greyhounds Act 2011.
In one of the cases the Welfare Committee recommended that Bord na gCon issue welfare notices, under the terms of Welfare of Greyhounds Act 2011, to two individuals, requiring the removal of all greyhounds from the premises. Welfare notices were issued in November 2014 and all greyhounds were removed in December 2014. Bord na gCon reported the issue of these welfare notices to the local authority, the local Garda Síochána and the ISPCA.
One investigation led to the successful prosecution of an individual through the courts’ system for being in breach of the Welfare of Greyhounds Act 2011 and a further two cases are to go before the courts.
The Welfare Committee is to discuss and make recommendations on eight investigations at its next meeting.
There have been five cases of the destruction of identification of greyhounds reported to Bord na gCon in the last 4 years. In all five cases either the earmarks or part of the earmarks had been tampered with. Following investigations into all of the cases, Bord na gCon established the identity of four of the five greyhounds and immediately carried out a full investigation, involving the Garda.
