International News Summer 2000

Asia
Vung Tan, Vietnam: Agence France Presse reported that greyhound racing officially began in this coastal city on Sunday, May 7. The 5,000-seat Lam Son Stadium was filled to capacity by Vietnamese fascinated by the spectacle of racing an animal normally found on the dinner table in Asia.
In a speech before the inaugural race at 6:00 p.m.. World Greyhound Association chairman Scan Collins praised what he described as the most modern dog track in southeast Asia. The racetrack, built a cost of US $5 million, reportedly meets international standards.
One spectator. Le Van Long, said he brought his whole family along to see the debut of dog racing. "These dogs don't look nearly as tasty as Vietnamese dogs," he joked. "They're clearly bred for racing and they're just too lean."
The stadium was developed by Sports Entertainment Service (SES), a 25-year joint venture between a local tourism company and Hemlock Services Corporation of Australia. Two hundred greyhounds worth US $2,000 each were imported from Australia last year. The dogs were trained locally and are being housed at kennels 15 miles outside the city.
SES spokesman Tran Tuan Viet said he was satisfied with the first race meeting and said the company planned to import more dogs to expand the scheduled seven-race program held once a week.
Viet did not disclose how much money was wagered on the first day but the oncourse bookmakers reportedly kept busy. The Vietnamese patrons were limited to a single bet of US $3.50 or less per race but nothing prevented them from placing additional bets under different names.
Vung Tau is the center of Vietnam's oil industry and has many foreign workers. It is also a popular seaside retreat for expatriates and wealthy Vietnamese from the nearby capital of Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon,just two hours away by boat.
The Agence France Presse article ended as follows: "Wealthy Vietnamese have increasingly adopted the imported habit of keeping dogs as pets, but the animal is still most widely favoured on the dinner table. In the last two weeks of the lunar month when eating dog meat is regarded as auspicious, Hanoians throng to the dog restaurant district near the city's West Lake. Fair-haired breeds are traditionally regarded as the tastiest."

Sources: Agence France Presse
The Saigon Times Daily

Australia
Sydney, New South Wales: The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) began its inquiry April 11 into a corruption scandal engulfing the New South Wales greyhound racing industry.
Rodney Wayne Potter, Chief Steward for the New South Wales Racing Authority, told the ICAC that he had accepted up to S 100,000 since 1995 from trainers to substitute dogs, tamper with urine tests, and administer human drugs such as Prozac to dogs, which effected the outcome of races.
Stephen Rushton, counsel assisting the ICAC, said, "The activities of the chief steward since his appointment in 1992 will demonstrate how easily the system was open to abuse and corruption." In the last month or so, Rushton said Potter's conduct resulted in a greyhound "who was quite literally doped to the eyeballs."
The hearings continued for six weeks and in addition to Potter, four trainers and one dog owner also admitted to drugging dogs. Rushton urged the commission to recommend criminal charges of bribery, possession of illegal substances, and giving false evidence against all six of the men caught in the corruption scandal.
As of mid-June, ICAC members are still considering the evidence.

Sources: Australian General News: Alex Tilbury, Sharon Labi
The Associated Press

Europe
London, England: The Easter Cup semifinals held at Shelboume Park on Saturday, March 25, was marred by the death of 2-year-old Knockmoylan Deal. "The dog got a touch at the bend, tumbled over and broke his neck. It was instantaneous, he never knew a thing, but as you can imagine it was an awful shock for everyone involved," said a kennel spokesman after the accident.
The blue male had sold for a five-figure sum after running second in Shelboume's £10,000 National Puppy Stake last year.

Source: Racing Post: Jim Cremin

Newcastle-upon-Tyne,England: Hurdle racing is about to be reintroduced at the Brough Park racetrack in North East En- gland. "We've spent a considerable amount of time investigating various manufacturers with greyhound welfare in mind. and we intend to hold both open and graded hurdle racing,"said racing manager Terry Meynell.
"The new people who are starting to come to greyhound racing certainly find hurdle racing exciting and we are after all in the entertainment business," said Alan Hutton, the track's managing director.

Source: Racing Post

Swansea, Wales: Greyhound Rescue Wales (GRW) has begun a campaign seeking tighter controls on Welsh racetracks and sanctions against owners who do not make proper provision for their retired dogs.
GRW spokesman Alain Thomas said, "At present there is not even a vet in attendance at greyhound race meetings in Wales. If a dog gets injured it may have to wait for hours before receiving treatment.
"The industry should also set up a fund to provide for the hundreds of dogs who are abandoned when they can no longer race," Thomas said. "It is only fair that the industry should provide for the casualties of racing."

Source: South Wales Evening Post

Report from Greyhound Action
Kidderminster, England: Greyhound Action (GA), an activist group based in south central England, reported that their third annual Greyhound Awareness Week was a great success. During the nationwide event held May 20-27, street stalls were set up for the distribution of leaflets to educate the public about the cruelties of greyhound racing. Demonstrations held at several greyhound tracks received wide media coverage. Thousands of signatures also were obtained for GA's petition campaign to abolish greyhound racing.
GA has received information that the proposed dog track in Cattolica, Italy will not be built. Local activists organized a successful letter-writing campaign to Italian officials asking them to oppose the track.