LETTERS: Campaign for dogs 'will continue'.

Byline: Annette Crosbie OBE

"GREYHOUNDS go global," - what an advertising slogan Lord Lipsey has coined. The dogs might be forgiven for thinking this is a parallel universe full of smoke and mirrors operated by the BGRB.

For what is in Lord LIpsey's plan for them? Or their owners and trainers and (I never thought I would say this ) for the bookmakers either?

So UK tracks, as seen through the camera lens, have shoddy traps at shoddy tracks. A few pots of paint for rusty traps and some landscaping trackside doesn't seem to me to be a massive investment of bookmakers' money.

And now that punters (worldwide?) can bet directly into track pools, making a donation of 30% take-out money to the promoters in the process, why should the tracks need investment from elsewhere? By the way, how do the bookmakers make money on those transactions in their shops or websites - another deduction from the punter?

What has all this got to do with Greyhounds UK? After all, if the punters get ripped off that is their business. Well, whatever part of the bookmakers' voluntary contribution goes elsewhere is obviously not available for the dogs, or for those who have hands-on care of them.

In the world of high finance the workers often get shortchanged. That is the legitimate concern of welfare campaigners like us and, while this Government is happy to leave the dogs' welfare to the BGRB, we will clearly have to go on campaigning.

Annette Crosbie OBE

Wimbledon, London