Cruelty-haters fire first attack; Greyhound racing under attack from animal welfare group.

Byline: JIM CREMIN

JIM CREMIN

GREYHOUND RACING, according to the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS), is in urgent need of reform as it launched a campaign yesterday against overbreeding, the size of tracks, the alleged lack of independence for track vets and for the provision of more homes for retired greyhounds.

This move is seen as being deliberately timed to coincide with the Derby, the semi-finals of which take place tomorrow at Wimbledon.

After being central in demanding a ban for hunting with dogs, the LACS is seeking new targets and, with actress Annette Crosbie as its new president, greyhound racing became an `obvious' one with the Government studying the introduction of an Animal Welfare Bill.

Crosbie, previously known for her ferocious criticism of the sport, said yesterday it had completely failed to clean up its act.

Claiming that greyhound racing was an industry of `Fat Cats and Dead Dogs', she said: "I won't rest until we have addressed the problem of greyhounds suffering all too short and painful lives while so much money is made from their efforts.

"The racing and betting industry which takes in over a billion pounds a year has failed time and again to provide the resources needed to stop dogs suffering before, during and after their racing careers."

The LACS is seeking a statutory levy on bookmaking income to generate pounds 16 million per annum, to be spent on homefinding, greyhound sanctuaries, track and kennel safety, and microchipping.

However, the Government has made clear its resistance to the concept of any type of statutory levy.

Nevertheless, the LACS highlights that the bookmaking industry takes in over pounds 1.6 billion per year from betting on greyhound racing and claims that, of this, just 3p in every pounds 100 bet is spent on retirement provision for greyhounds.

It also attacks breeders, saying around 5,500 greyhounds are bred for racing each year in the UK but around 2,000 of these puppies never make it to the tracks. "They just disappear, with most believed to be killed by the breeders," claims the LACS as it calls for the licensing of breeders, the registration from birth of all puppies, and full publication of statistics.

Its concerns about greyhounds when they race include the provision of veterinary services, and the claim that "track vets are employed by racing promoters, meaning that they can come under strong pressure not to restrict dogs from racing."

Most greyhound vets are in fact notoriously independently-minded. One, Paddy Sweeney, has joined the LACS campaign. He, though, is well-known for his disaffection with the sport and support for significantly larger tracks.

The LACS suggests "radii of 50-80m (rather than the 43m or less radii of current tracks), depending on the weight of the dogs running on the track."

These LACS `track guidelines' appear to have been rapidly changed. A draft statement issued a week earlier indicated radii should be not less than 91m - twice the size of most existing tracks.

It is estimated that bend radii of 80m, with a straight of 50m, would put the start of 480m races somewhere in the middle of the first bend.

The LACS calls for a ban on the racing of the heaviest dogs at the smaller tracks: "Tracks should be licensed for a maximum weight of dog depending on their size."

John Haynes, chairman of both the British Greyhound Racing Board's Welfare Committee, and the Trainers' Association, said: "The welfare of the greyhound is paramount. While we share this view with the League, some of their views or comments are unrealistic or simply inaccurate.

"Regarding breeding issues the BGRB Welfare Committee is looking at best practice in this area with the help of Bob Gilling of the Breeders' Forum.

"Microchipping may seem a simple answer to tracing greyhounds for the whole of their lives, but is not a practical solution. In some cases the chip can migrate in the racing greyhound because of its physical make-up. The laser treatment of greyhounds can also cause problems."

Haynes says by implying that vets are anything other than independent is "questioning a profession which is dedicated to the promoting the well being of animals."

The Greyhound Forum, which embraces a number of carers such as the National Canine Defence League, Battersea Dogs' Home and the RSPCA, issued a statement saying that they do not accept that racing itself is a cruel sport. "However, we agree that it needs regulation to ensure welfare standards for the dogs from the cradle to the grave."

David Miles, a leading owner, attended yesteday's launch of the campaign, where he was mistakenly said to have switched all his greyhounds to Ireland because of his concerns.

He said afterwards: "I've had to put them right on a few points, but they are seeking to put pressure on bookmakers to pay something, pounds 15m, towards welfare - and that's worth supporting.

"They've got a few odd ideas, including a maximum weight of a runner at certain tracks - that would surely cause more welfare problems by `killing off' the bigger dogs. My Reactabond Rebel was 37kgs, and under that `rule' would not run at Peterborough - but he loved it there.

"You can't embrace everything they say, but don't dismiss it out of hand either."

CAPTION(S):

Annette Crosbie Call for change