to Spain Under Horrific Conditions
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The Greyhound Sales in Limerick...... These are the photos from the last Greyhound Sales in Limerick. This has been a terrible experience to witness the greyhounds being loaded on such a terrible transporter to begin the long torturous journey to Spain. They were hot, thirsty, hungry, nowhere to sit, unable to stand properly and hidden from view. The conditions were atrocious and to think that these unfortunate greyhounds had to endure a journey of at least 1200 km depending on the route. We believe these dogs went from the Limerick track to Dublin then the ferry Dublin to Holyhead, England. From there south to Dover and then the ferry from Dover to Calais, France. Then the long journey through France, over the Pyrenees and down into Spain. Then their lives as racing greyhounds at the Meridiana Track begins. What more can I say. The ISPCA and RSPCA followed this transporter and driver from Ireland to Barcelona in 2003. The entire trip was observed and complaints documented and filed with the authorities. There was no response and this man and his transporter are fully licensed to take greyhounds from Ireland to Spain by the Irish Department of Agriculture. This transporter allows two greyhounds to a crate muzzled. The water bowl is tiny and the muzzles do not allow easy access to the tiny water bowl that must be shared by two dogs. The stress of loading two dogs to a crate is enormous. The greyhounds are terrified. One was literally thrown in on top of the other. The crates measure 70 cms high. The greyhounds measure approx. 70 cms high to their shoulders, and therefore could not stand to their natural height. In the compartments shared by two dogs the measurements meant that only one dog could sit down at a time. It was difficult to take photos as we were threatened at regular intervals and told our cars would be burned and we could be shot. The canvas cover was pulled down over the cages as we approached. The 2003 Report on this transport found that no food was given to the greyhounds during their entire trip although six bags of food were later discovered in the vehicle. Thirty two greyhounds were confined in their cramped cages for the entire journey, with only four being taken off to be exercised during the one and only stop. These four greyhounds would have been caged in four single cages which measured only 38 cms wide. No attempt was made to take dogs out of the 16 double cages measuring only 74cms wide. Temperatures during the journey reached in excess of 40 degrees centigrade. The laws for transporting dogs for commercial purposes must be urgently looked at in order to address these very serious welfare concerns. Dogs are frequently overlooked in legislation and as a result their welfare is being compromised. If these dogs were classified as livestock they would have access to better welfare conditions when travelling by sea. At present there is not even a requirement for the transporter to provide a Route Plan. We must bring our petitions to the EU and lobby for a change in the laws relating to transport of commercial dogs. Our ongoing petitions to the Irish Government seem to bring no comfort to the suffering greyhounds. The Minister with particular responsibility for Greyhounds is John O'Donoghue, Minister for Arts, Sport, tourism and the Gaeltacht. This comes under his "Sporting Brief". The address is Kildare, Street, Dublin. The new Welfare Officer for the Irish Greyhound Racing Board is D.J. Histon, and the address is Henry Street, Limerick. The web site for the Irish Greyhound Racing Board is www.igb.ie. The Limerick Animal Welfare web site is www.limerickanimalwelfare.com. The next Greyhound Auction in Limerick is next Tuesday [24 May, 2005]. This is the third Auction in six weeks. We are told it is a low grade auction. The standard is so low already we fail to comprehend what this could possibly mean. We will do our best to observe and report and take photos in spite of the aggression we will meet. Many thanks for to everyone for all the messages of support. Marion Tony Normoyle had his transporter right at the Auction. I could not believe it. The same set of terrible cages with the canvas cover. He loaded two greyhounds to a cage dragging them to their terrible end. He would not allow them to take water from the buckets before he threw them into the cages. They only had a tiny bowl of water for two greyhounds and the muzzles were so large that they could not drink. They were all terrified. The little black and white who is the last one to be loaded was nearly mine but the Spanish took her at the last minute. It just about broke my heart. I feel so badly for these dogs. I never saw the Spanish in Limerick two months in a row before. What is happening to the greyhounds in Spain? I have more photos from Meridiana. They are terrible and were only taken last October by a Belgian Journalist. Marion.
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