INTERNATIONAL NEWS UPDATE

London, England: IM Scooby, a young dog who won his puppy class at the 2002 Breeders Festival, was fatally injured during a fall in the first turn at Walthamstow Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 28.

"It was a sickening fall, certainly the worst I've ever seen," said his trainer Mick Puzey. "He broke his neck, and although the spinal cord itself was undamaged, the two vertebrae were badly damaged and pushed right out of the spine. There was absolutely nothing that could be done to save him."

Source: Racing Post: Dean Willard

London, England: National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) stewards ruled Nov. 15 that Catford Stadium management was not at fault in the heat-related death of Football Focus on the night of Aug. 17.
[See GNN Fall 2002 for details. - Ed.] Key points that led to the ruling included the fact that Focus had run a second complete circuit around the course after his race and that no other greyhound had been affected by heat stress that evening. The dog's death prompted greyhound owners and trainers to renew their demands that the old, airless kennel blocks be torn down and rebuilt.

On Nov. 21 the British Greyhound Racing Board (BGRB) announced new minimum standards to apply to all racecourse kennels by May 2003, before the summer season begins. Geoffrey Thomas, chief executive of the BGRB, said, "We promised to deliver on the issue of kennels at racecourses and we have done that on an unprecedented scale."

A budget of £1.5 million has been allocated for rebuilding and renovating racecourse kennels. All construction and renovations have been scheduled for completion by the summer of 2005. Approximately £500,000 will be spent on a 50-50 matching-fund basis with track owners; the remaining £900,000 is earmarked for improvements to kennels and racetracks.

Source: Racing Post: Jim Cremin

Wimbledon, England: Scotsman Tom Flaherty, one of the leading greyhound trainers in Britain, surrendered his license to train greyhounds in England after stewards accused him of "nobbling" his dog. Knockeevan King tested positive for hexadrine, a drug used to slow down a dog's performance, following the second round of the William Hill Derby held at Wimbledon Stadium earlier in the year.

Flaherty refused to pay the Euro 624 fine imposed by the stewards and handed in his license in September to protest the ruling. He said he had traveled over 900 miles for each round of the Derby with a greyhound capable of winning. "I had nothing to gain from administering a substance detrimental to performance," he said. Knockeeven King won the Scots Derby in 2000.

Flaherty blamed a third party for "interfering with" his dog by administering the drug. "I have no intention of paying the fine imposed which would give credibility to a body (National Greyhound Racing Club [NGRC]) which knows little about the sport," Flaherty said. "If the NGRC stewards continue not to take track kennel security seriously, it is inevitable that further interference with greyhounds will continue."

NGRC chief executive Frank Melville said security at the course on Derby day was particularly high.

Source: Sunday Mirror: Larissa Nolan

Kildare, Ireland: An anonymous tip led Royal SPCA animal welfare officer Helen Hubbock to the home of John O'Conner in the Curragh, a grassy plain in County Kildare known for the Irish Derby. In an interview with The Sun on Dec. 7, Hubbock said she was sickened by what she found on the property in November.

A total of 14 greyhounds were discovered, two of them dead in their kennels. Two fawn greyhounds were found standing in a foot and a half of excrement in a shed with no food or water. Most of the dogs were malnourished and underweight.

"It was unbelievable treatment for greyhounds to have to endure," Hubbock said. "I have been with the RSPCA for three years and this is one of the worst cases I have seen. A close eye will be kept on people who are into the business of breeding greyhounds."

O'Connor was banned for life from owning animals and fined 1,000 Irish pounds in Naas District Court.

Source: The Sun: Petrina Vousden

Dog Racing Spreads to China
Shanghai, China: Greyhound Action International (GAI), based in Kidderminster, England, recently reported that 53 Australian greyhounds were shipped to the Shanghai Wild Animal Park in late 2002. According to information announced on Chinese television and confirmed by a GAI contact in Shanghai, construction of a greyhound racetrack is currently underway. Racing is expected to begin in 2004.

GAI requests that greyhound welfare activists worldwide write, fax, or email letters protesting the export of Australian greyhounds to Asian countries.

Australia contact information can be found on GAI's new website: www.greyhoundaction.co.uk (click on Australian section); or write to GNN for a printed list of contacts prepared by Greyhound Action International.