Greyhounds sold to Spanish buyers....

15 August 2001

Yesterday the Spanish buyers came to Limerick Ireland and bought many Greyhounds at the Greyhound sales. The dogs were loaded on a filthy and inadequate lorry to begin their journey to Spain. The conditions of the transporter are not in accordance with the required standards and the dogs are without water, many being muzzled.

Right now we believe the lorry is on its way to Rosslaire, where it will board a ferry that we believe will take the dogs to LeHavre, France. From there the dogs will travel on that filthy transporter all the way to Barcelona, Spain where they will begin their racing careers in a hell hole if ever there was one.

The Irish Department of Agriculture has rules and regulations that are being violated. There are also regulations that each dog must have rabies shots and inoculations before departing Ireland. None of these rules or regulations are followed to protect the Irish Greyhounds
that are sold for export in Ireland.

What might help to get the lorry stopped before it leaves Ireland is to contact the Irish Department of Agriculture and express concern for this event. [See following note.]

I called the Agriculture Department and there was a recording to leave a message which I did. I left my telephone number, what I was concerned about and said I would call back.
Probably they were out to lunch at that time.

Please consider making a call and if you know others in countries that could do the same please ask them to as well. We want the lorry stopped and the conditions inspected to see that the dogs are being humanely transported. The more calls they get today from around the world the better. Please be civil and just explain you want to express your concern and ask them to investigate this transport before they allow it to leave Ireland, and that you expect they will want to enforce their rules.

Thank you all and God Bless.
Pat Colitsas, Greyhounds As Companions, Inc.

A first-hand account from Marion Fitzgibbon.... 15 August 2001

Our photographs of the transporter did not come out very well as it was very dark and our camera did not have a zoom lens. We are having some of them enlarged to see if they will be clearer. Niamh was nervous and very upset as it was her first experience of the Spanish at the Sales. They were very aggressive and twisted her arm and tried to take the camera away from her.

The transporter is the same one as we have on the AEGA Web site [shown below] but they seem to have added more cages for this trip.

By the time I arrived they had the Canvas down and it was not easy to count the cages. Niamh said they bought at least 50 Greyhounds. I think they had the usual twenty at each side and an extra ten cages at the back. I had two helpers with me and they both thought that there was a third layer of cages on top but I could not see this when the cover was down. I find this hard to believe but the transporter looked very high and they had a young Spanish lad climb up the side and then he was given the Greyhounds to push into the top layer.

They would not let me near the transporter as they know me very well by now. They seemed to have a lot of money to spend. They told me that I would not succeed in stopping them as the officials would let them out. I have a slight advantage as I can speak Spanish to them and understand what they are saying.

I arrived late at the Sales to give the girls a chance to take the photographs. Unfortunately Philip missed the transporter on the way out as he had planned to follow them and see where they would stay the night.

The position with the regulations is that the Directive which applies is the Balai Directive of 1992. The Department has stated that "so far as trade in Greyhounds is concerned, National Rules in transporsition of the Directive have been put is place under Article 11 of the European Communities (Trade in Animals and Animal Semen, Ova and Embryos) Regulations, 1996 (S. 1. No. 12 1996)".

The Department has to ensure that procedures are put in place in relation to export of Greyhounds with a view to ensuring that these comply with the provisions of Article 11 of the 1996 Regulations. Article 11 states that all dogs which are more than three months old must have Rabies Vaccination and also vaccination against Canine Distemper. Each dog must have individual health Certification. The regulations do not state that the Rabies must be given 30 days prior but this is the requirement for Spain. It is also the requirement for Germany.

The transporter is totally inadequate and we are told that the cages are according to regulations. We have not been able to find any regulations that say what the size of the cages should be for travel by land and sea. The only reference we can find is that "no person shall transport animals by sea, air, road or rail or cause or permit animals to be so transported, in such a way as is likely to cause injury or unnecessary suffering to the animals".

Some of the larger dogs could not stand yesterday and none of them could turn. Many of them were muzzled. There were no water bowls visible. Many of the dogs seemed to be in poor condition and stressed. They did have shredded paper as bedding which is interesting as we complained that they had no bedding last time.

The Department sometimes say that these rules do not apply to Greyhounds as they are not domestic pets and they are not food animals. If they were food animals the Spanish would have to submit a journey plan and state where the animals would be rested and watered and fed. The Greyhounds are sometimes said to fall into a "grey area" as they are not for food and they are not pets and they are just commercial animals. Of course this is nonsense and I know you will all support me when I say that the GREYHOUND IS A DOMESTIC DOG.

I know this has been a very long journey but together we will make things change. These precious dogs must have all the protection that the European Law can give them and if we have to take their case all the way to Europe we will do so.

The lovely lucky brindle boy and girl are fine. They had never met but they cannot be separated and are curled up together in the same bed. The female is so nervous but she is getting strength from the male. The male is not so well and has a poor appetite. I hope he is not breeding anything. They are in the hands of St. Francis.

There were 120 dogs at the Auction on Tuesday. The Sales started at noon and did not end until 5 o'clock. The Scottish buyers were also there. It really was unbearable. I cannot find the words to describe how hopeless I feel. It was so hard to see the dogs dragged off and manhandled into the top layer of the transporter. The Department told me that they are looking into the matter but they had not been made aware that the Spanish were here buying Greyhounds. The transporter should be registered and passed by the Department and have a special license number.

RTE said that they would have me speak on the early morning Radio Programme which would be great but they could not get John Garish from Bord na gCon and they would not speak to me alone.

Many thanks for all the support. It helps more than you will ever know.

Marion

Department of Agriculture in Ireland....

The phone number to call is: 011 3536 1208500.  Peter O'Malley is one of the folks you may speak with. If you do call, please be polite and express your concern over the inhumane and possibly illegal conditions that the Greyhounds are being exported under .

Things are looking up for this group of hounds....

16 August 2001

I just returned at 2 a.m. The transporter stands empty in the city. I had a good look at it. It can only take 36 Greyhounds as per our information from Spain. The Agent bought about 50 dogs but he was probably buying for other people as well. Niamh said he bought some very expensive dogs at the start of the Sales.

The Spanish had checked out of their Hotel this morning and they checked into a very cheap B & B tonight. I am sure they are very annoyed. The cages are very narrow. We think about 14 or 16 inches wide. We were about to measure them when one of the men came out of the B & B so we had to retreat.

Niamh and Bridget and Grace came with me to-night and we made an odd looking group as Grace is 72 years old already and a most unlikely detective. Niamh took a lot of photographs. We had the flash and maybe someone saw us and alerted the Spanish. However, we are all home safe and sound. Many many thanks to everyone. We can only pray for these very special Greyhounds, the very first shipment to get a stay of execution.

Marion

I have been out all day following the Spanish Transporter. I found out where the dogs are being kennelled in Croom, Co. Limerick The dogs were being loaded for departure this morning and then they stopped. I was informed by the Dept of Agric Limerick this afternoon that the permit to leave had been refused and that the Greyhounds would not be permitted to leave the country until their paper work was in order. I was only told this by the Secretary as none of the Vets would speak to me. She said they were at a meeting all day.

I think we have them very worried. The Spanish Embassy have confirmed to me this morning that all dogs must have Rabies 30 days prior to departure. We were watching the kennels this evening and saw a very eldery Vet who has retired being driven into the building. I am sure he was probably looking at the dogs and maybe doing vaccinations.

The Spanish found us parked in the area and were very abusive. I am leaving now as the lorry is empty and parked in the city. I want to try and see how many cages are mounted on the back. It is difficult as the canvas is tied down. The Dept. might say that they will not allow the dogs to go without the proper papers but how do they explain all the transporters that have already left the country? Remember these regulations are in force since 1996. Could it be that the Department did not know about them ???????

In haste,

Marion

They're still being held in Ireland....

17 August 2001

The Spanish are still here to-day. Some people have been looking at the transporter but it has not moved. I thought they would have left by now and maybe come back in 30 days. I hope they do not still think they can move the dogs.

I spoke to Mr. Powell [at the Dept. of Agriculture] today and he said that they would not leave until they had all their paperwork in order including Rabies at least 30 days old. He said that he had many calls from the US and that he was a very busy man. He sounded a bit bewildered.

Nobody here can understand why on earth all this fuss about a few Greyhounds. I am trying to work on the transporter and the size of the cages but I cannot find any regulations about the standard for road and sea travel. They say the dogs should be able to travel without unnecessary suffering. I have found that there is an S.I No 326 - Diseases of animals (protection of animals during transport) Amendment) Order 1997 and I will have to get hold
of this and see if it can be of any use.

Best wishes to all,

Marion

A little bit about the two Greyhounds that were purchased by Marion....

The two Greyhounds from the Sales look like brother and sister but they are not related. They are both brindle and I will find out their racing names when I get their ear numbers. I came late to the Sales and did not have time to look at many of the dogs.

We had very little money but I had decided to buy just one dog as a token gesture. I saw the dark brindle bitch almost immediately as she would not walk to the Auction Block and had to be dragged. She had her head down and she was shaking. Also as I was standing near her I could see the fleas walking down her spine. On closer inspection she was also infested with lice. Their was no bid on this poor dog. The Auctioneer opened the bidding at one hundred guineas. As there was no bid only mine I got her for £105 Irish pounds. She would not walk for us and we lifted her into Niamh's jeep.

Everybody laughed at us as we put a beautiful American collar and leash on her and kissed her and welcomed her to our Animal Welfare Group. We were so pleased to have saved her as the Spanish would have got her for a lot less once she was stood down from the Auction block.

The Greyhound people at the Sales thought we were mad. As we were driving out of the Car Park a man came up to us and asked us to take his large male brindle Greyhound. I said we had no room in the jeep and we also had no room in the kennels. He said that he did not want the dog as he had been very sick for a few weeks and he was not in racing form. Nobody would
buy him that day. He did not want to bring him home as he was "no good". We did not know what to do as we were all piled into the jeep. However he just took the collar and lead off the dog and left him to us.

We lifted him into the small space at the back with the bitch and they immediately licked one another and were fast friends. She lay down and he stood over her as if to protect her. That is how we acquired the two Greyhounds. We have called them Diarmuid and Grainne after the old Irish legend of the famous lovers as they are kennelled together and the nervous bitch goes everywhere with the male.

We took the dogs immediately to the Vet and the female had to be treated for fleas and lice. The Vet gave her her first vaccination. The male did not pass Veterinary inspection as he had a bad discharge from his eyes and seemed very depressed. He is improving now. They were both very thirsty and were trying to drink the dirty water from the drains. To think that they might have gone to Spain in this condition.... Bord nagCon should make a Rule that a Vet must attend at all Sales to examine the dogs and see that they are fit.

Best wishes,
Marion