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International News Winter 2003-04 Sydney, Australia: A leading trainer has threatened to inform RSPCA officials about the decrepit state of the Wentworth Park kennels unless immediate improvements are made. The trainer, who was not identified, said the air-cooling system is inadequate and the floors in the kennel bays are decaying. Wentworth Park manager Peter
Mann said the 63-year-old kennel building was "overdue for refurbishment."
Mann, however, is powerless to act without funding from Greyhound Racing
New South Wales, the governing authority, which is unable to approve funding
until the long-term viability of the track is solved. London, England: Wembley, battling indictments in the U.S., shut down without notice its Catford Stadium in South East London Nov. 6. Catford is one of seven greyhound tracks Wembley owns in England. Declining attendance was cited for the closure of the 71-year-old track. The closure will affect 95 employees, hundreds of dog owners, and 600 greyhounds, only about half of which will make the grade at other tracks. In a Nov. 6 press release,
Douglas Batchelor, Executive Director of the League Against Cruel Sports,
called upon Wembley to publicly recognize its responsibility towards the
dogs. "This industry can afford to look after the dogs whose efforts
its profits depend on," Batchelor said. Rugby, England: More than 200 protesters who are fighting plans to bring greyhound racing to Brandon Stadium held a demonstration in Rugby's town center on Oct. 18. Rugby MP Andy King joined the protesters at the beginning of the rally. "I am against cruelty to animals and I do have reservations about the sport," King said. Event organizer Janet Cummings said, "This is a peaceful protest to show our complete opposition to greyhound racing in Brandon." Allan Daish of Rugby said, "It is important for people to understand that for every dog they see racing, another three or four have been killed on the way." Dog racing at Brandon Stadium ended 20 years ago. The stadium is now being used as a stock-car racecourse. Owner Avtar Sandhu wants to revive dog racing at the site but has not yet received permission from the Rugby Borough Council. In September, speedway workers cleared a field in front of the stadium site to make way for a car park. Outraged villagers said the work destroyed a pastoral area, which was home to a variety of wildlife, including tiny muntjac deer; a 200-year-old oak tree was also cut down. For additional information,
go to www.greyhoundaction.co.uk
Fife, Scotland: The latest attempt to capture a greyhound living in Blairadam Forest failed Oct. 12. The dog was hit with a dart from a tranquillizer gun but escaped before the drug took effect. Edna Whitelaw, who runs boarding kennels at the edge of the forest, has been feeding the greyhound three times a day for more than a year. "I just feel so sorry
for her," Whitelaw said. "I don't know if we will make another
attempt to catch her before winter, because we've tried so many times
already. I think I will build her a shelter, which might help her survive.
It's very likely she is an abandoned racing dog." Barcelona, Spain: A delegation led by SOS Galgos President Anna Clements met with Isidre Ferran, regional representative of the Catalan Government's Department of the Environment Oct. 30. Clements presented Ferran with proposals to improve conditions for the 800 galgos kenneled at the Barcelona track. More than 8,000 signatures in support of the proposals were submitted. The delegation also included
two adopted galgos, Lili and Dantxa. According to Clements, Ferran was
very receptive to the proposals. New Report Concludes
"Future is Bleak for Greyhounds" Assembly Minister Lorraine Barrett, chairwoman of the welfare group whose associate members included the RSPCA and The League Against Cruel Sports, said, "This report is based on sound statistical information gleaned from local authorities and gives us the ammunition we need to tackle the terrible truth we have suspected for a number of years." The study was based on Wales but findings were extrapolated to Britain as a whole. Researchers estimated that between 8,000 and 12,000 greyhounds were slaughtered or abandoned annually throughout Britain. Only an estimated 2,800 were rescued or impounded by local authorities. The release of the report to the media Oct. 21 prompted calls for legislation to regulate the independent, unregulated greyhound tracks, and for the industry to meet strict guidelines on the treatment of the dogs. Greyhound racing is split between the regulated registered sector, which has 30 tracks in the UK, and the unregulated independent sector, with 21 tracks. RSPCA veterinary spokesman David McDowell said, "It is imperative that the industry finally admits there is a problem and works with welfare organizations to look at ways of tackling this as a matter of urgency." Alain Thomas, a founding member of Greyhound Rescue Wales (GRW), said the most common methods of killing unwanted dogs were to shoot them or beat them to death. In her introduction to the report, Barrett said it was GRW's presentation at the February 2001 launch of the All Party Group that prompted the in-depth study. GRW was founded in 1993. The full report can be found
at www.rspca.org
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