Secret trade in greyhound organs
Britain's most famous veterinary research college regularly pays for and receives body parts from healthy greyhounds that have been euthanized by private veterinarians, the Times of London reported yesterday.
The newspaper's investigation goes a long way in resolving the British mystery of what happens to the thousands of greyhounds that retire from racing there each year.
An undercover Times reporter posing as a greyhound owner found that staff at the Greyhound Clinic in Essex agreed to kill greyhounds for £30 each even though he told them the dogs had “nothing wrong with them.” Clinic officials told the reporter that blood and lymph glands would be removed from the dogs and provided to the veterinary college for research.
The Royal Veterinary College admitted that it had a number of similar financial agreements with other clinics to provide specimens.
Alistair McLean, chief executive of the National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC), the industry’s governing body, said he was “flabbergasted” by the trade in body parts. “This is completely and utterly unacceptable,” he said. “It is quite scandalous.”
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Comments
The ultimate betrayal. Do racing fans understand what happens when the racing life of both dogs and horses is over? Breed them, use them, kill them.
Posted by: EN Benjamin | March 3, 2008 5:04 PM
It is somewhat strange that Alistair McLean, chief executive of the National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC),
should be "flabbergasted" the trade in greyhound body parts.
He most know it is inevitable that this sort of thing should happen when many thousands of
greyhounds are discarded by the British dog racing industry every year.
It is hardly surprising that someone is happy to make money by offering a killing service for
"unwanted" greyhounds and then selling bits of them for research.
Mr McLean, apparently, finds this "completely and utterly unacceptable” and "quite scandalous”.
Those two phrases could also be applied to the activities of the NGRC, which oversees an industry
responsible for the putting to death, according to our calculations, of approximately 20,000
greyhounds every year.
Sadly, the situation is likely to be similar in the USA, where the greyhound racing industry is about the same size as in the UK.
Thankfully, the public can help put an stop to this appalling situation, by not attending or betting
on greyhound races, so that commercial dog racing is brought to an end through lack of financial
support.
See our website at www.greyhoundaction.org.uk for more information.
Tony Peters
UK Co-ordinator
Greyhound Action
Posted by: Tony Peters | March 3, 2008 6:57 PM
How terrible. Thank goodness the racing industry is in decline.
Posted by: Laurie | March 3, 2008 7:48 PM
We should put in a good word for "Fast Friends," a Maryland greyhound rescue group. I've met these folks at several community festivals, and they're doing a great job placing retired Greyhounds into appropriate, loving homes. A number of people here in Canton have adopted retired Greyhounds, and all have said that their dogs are good friends and companions. Apparently, despite the fact that they can run at 45 miles per hour, they're basically couch potatoes who want comfort and a lot of love. You can find Fast Friends at http://www.greytdogs.org/ . If you attend the Festival on the Hill in Bolton Hill in October, they're almost always there with a handsome group of their retired superstars.
Posted by: Anne | March 4, 2008 12:36 PM