the
first Sanctuary for Greyhounds in Ireland has opened its doors
Dear Animal Lover,
We are more than happy to introduce
to you the first sanctuary for Greyhounds in Ireland
AVALON
Avalon was the mythological name of an island sanctuary
for wounded and persecuted creatures. "All weapons fail
at the gates of Avalon - a place of healing and peace."
We do everything in our power that our
sanctuary will live up to its name and that it will justify the
deep meaning by its life and our work.
The Greyhound tragedy began back in
the 1920s, when betting turned dog racing into a profitable business.
From then on, the tragic social downfall of this proud and gentle
breed was sealed. Greyhounds were degraded to pure tools - racing
machines - being only of interest to their owners as long as
they were "winners". But sooner or later all Greyhounds
will become detested "losers", implying their sure
death.
They are thrown out onto the street
to die a slow death, or drowned, or dragged behind vehicles until
they collapse. They are taken to the local dog pounds where they
are killed within a few hours. They are sold for vivisection;
their gentle nature and exceptionally large heart and lungs make
them "ideal" for laboratory experiments.
It is no secret that the Greyhound industry
has a yearly turnover of millions of pounds - there are approximately
30,000 Greyhounds produced every year. Ireland is the world's
greatest exporter of Greyhounds, mostly to the USA, Great Britain
and Spain. The martyrdom of these lovely animals in Spain is
indescribable. We ourselves saw the corpses of Greyhounds hanged
in the woods around Medina del Campo and this tradition is also
common in many other regions of Spain.
Pro Animale fur Tiere in Not e. V. is
a German animal welfare organisation, which has been a registered
charity since 1985. In 1995 we read a newspaper article describing
the tragic suffering of Greyhounds.
Mrs. Johanna Wothke, Pro Animale's founder
and president ever since, went to Ireland, and we started the
first appreciable rescue operation in Irish Greyhound history.
Today, most of the saved Greyhounds live as pets, companions
and friends with German families. Our exhibition of photographs
at Avalon bears witness to this.
In 1995, we built the first rescue shelter
for Greyhounds at Rosemary Jones' in Kilmallock. At this shelter,
the dogs, who were in a deplorable physical and psychological
condition, were nursed back to health before been sent to good
homes in Germany. But our aim from the very beginning was to
build a Greyhound sanctuary in Ireland as a symbol of mercy and
justice which would help at least some of the losers after almost
a century of ruthless exploitation.
Pro Animale is not a rich organisation
in spite of its 5000 memberships. We are proud of the fact that
administrative costs are only 4.6% (35% is recommended as effective
for non-profit-making organisations). 10% of our financial assets
are invested to ensure the future of all the shelters and rescue
places that we have built within 13 years of hard work in Germany,
Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Poland and Russia.
85% of all donations and membership
fees go directly to rescue animals in hopeless situations. The
rescue of Irish Greyhounds fulfills this goal to a high extent.
After our first visit to Ireland in 1995, when we saw the horrible
tragedy of the Greyhounds ourselves, we started an on-going campaign
of help. We informed the press and TV: well-known newspapers
wrote articles and TV stations broadcasted stories about the
Greyhound misery. In only two years, Pro Animale printed 90,000
magazines (informing about Pro Animale's wide ranging projects).
In our magazines we described the desperate
situation of Irish Greyhounds and appealed urgently for financial
help.
Even today, it is almost impossible
to find a good loving home for a Greyhound in Ireland - they
are mostly kept in miserable kennels and no Greyhound is ever
allowed to step into its master's house. We pray that through
the example of Avalon, a Greyhound will have the chance for adoption
even in Ireland, the land of its origin. Those in our care who
won't have the chance of adoption, due to age or handicaps, will
have a loving home in Avalon to the end of their natural lives.
It has been written in our statutes that an animal is only to
be put humanely to sleep if suffering from a terminal illness
that makes its life unbearable.
What a wonderful
welcome to the Sanctuary! This girl is up for adoption.
Helena Pampus
and Marion Fitzgibbon
The beautiful
countryside near Avalon.
Gypsy caravan
wagons for rent nearby.
Dear Animal Lover,
Pro Animale has accomplished a Herculean
task to take the first steps for the rescue of the Irish Greyhound.
But the daily costs at Avalon are enormous due to the huge number
of dogs in our care.
Please help us on our way so that
we can keep Avalon open for many more of these poor creatures!
Sincerely yours,
Johanna Wothke
President
All donations are gratefully received.
Bank Account 326 16 969 - Bank of Ireland
Scariff, Co. Clare
Please make your cheque or postal
order payable to:
PROANIMALE e.v. Greyhound-Sanctuary
Avalon Flesk, Woodford, Co. Galway. Tel. 0509-49262 Fax 0509-49263
Some of the
lucky pups at Avalon
More dogs in
their runs.
Steve Dunn and
Gordon, the Greyhound he brought home to adopt.
The sleeping
area for the Greyhounds. Six dogs share a room.
Kitchen area
used for meal preparations.
Sitting room
with a Greyhound visitor.
Dining area.
Iris, the new
manager of Avalon.
Greta and Iris
with some hounds.
Our thanks to Steve Dunn
for all the wonderful pictures!
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