Irish greyhound owners bite back
John Daly (Letters, March 27) and Mark O'Brien (Letters, March 29) make similar and wholly unsubstantiated claims that greyhounds who retire from a racing career are badly treated.
These claims are based on nothing more than hearsay and are upsetting to the tens of thousands of people for whom greyhound racing is a sport, a livelihood and a way of life.
Over the past 10 years, on average, about 22,000 greyhounds per year have been born in Ireland. On average, about 8,000 were sold annually to owners and trainers in the UK.
That means about 14,000 greyhounds a year remained in Ireland, and over 10 years (the average lifespan of a greyhound) that amounts to 140,000 greyhounds.
The Irish Greyhound Board (IGB) has 100,000 registered members. If we halve this number and estimate that each owner will at any time have three greyhounds in their care -- one puppy, one racing and one retired -- this gives a figure of 150,000 over the same 10-year period.
Some greyhounds are put to sleep as a result of injury or illness but no more than is the case with any other breed of dog. Greyhounds who suffer mistreatment are an increasingly rare exception.
The campaigns of re-homing and adoption which the IGB has developed over recent years will continue to ensure that greyhounds are well treated throughout and beyond their career in racing.
Mort Cronin
Irish Greyhound Owners & Breeders Federation
Glanmire, Co Cork
Irish Independent
