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7 hours ago, Gemini said:

I suppose they make up the photos as well? 

They have been known to doctor photos and make up lies lies lies.  times have changed 25 years a go owners trainers use to put dogs to sleep Without hesitation i don’t know anybody now   A few bad apples shouldn’t stop the sport .all greyhounds are not suitable for rehoming  most are the best companions you’ll ever have last one I had was 40kg would lick anybody to death . lie about all day  on sofa and be happy as pig in muck but as soon as it was walked see another dog or any animal you would think it was a wild lion sadly at 6 1/2 years he got cancer and had to be put down 

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1 hour ago, hans fan said:

They have been known to doctor photos and make up lies lies lies.  times have changed 25 years a go owners trainers use to put dogs to sleep Without hesitation i don’t know anybody now   A few bad apples shouldn’t stop the sport .all greyhounds are not suitable for rehoming  most are the best companions you’ll ever have last one I had was 40kg would lick anybody to death . lie about all day  on sofa and be happy as pig in muck but as soon as it was walked see another dog or any animal you would think it was a wild lion sadly at 6 1/2 years he got cancer and had to be put down 

Yes i had a Greyhound like that, he would bark and twist/jump around even if he saw his own reflection in a window, however that is not a reason to have him/her put down they just need the right responsible owners, I would actually like to know whats the yardstick when the "Not suitable for rehoming" is used ?, or is it just used as get out reason for putting a Greyhound to sleep.

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2 minutes ago, greyhoundp said:

Yes i had a Greyhound like that, he would bark and twist/jump around even if he saw his own reflection in a window, however that is not a reason to have him/her put down they just need the right responsible owners, I would actually like to know whats the yardstick when the "Not suitable for rehoming" is used ?, or is it just used as get out reason for putting a Greyhound to sleep.

The bad apples use it as a excuse thankfully vets are a lot more stringent now and don’t do it 

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1 hour ago, hans fan said:

They have been known to doctor photos and make up lies lies lies.  times have changed 25 years a go owners trainers use to put dogs to sleep Without hesitation i don’t know anybody now   A few bad apples shouldn’t stop the sport .all greyhounds are not suitable for rehoming  most are the best companions you’ll ever have last one I had was 40kg would lick anybody to death . lie about all day  on sofa and be happy as pig in muck but as soon as it was walked see another dog or any animal you would think it was a wild lion sadly at 6 1/2 years he got cancer and had to be put down 

The Greyhound Board of Great Britain release their own report stating 1,000 dogs died in a single year, including 242 put down trackside and 324 which were put down because they could not be rehomed. This is only dogs which "retire" it doesn't include those which were being trained but were not considered suitable.

A report compiled for the Irish Greyhound Board concluded that on average 5,987 dogs were culled (slide 26) each year as they "failed to produce qualifying times" (2,673); "failure to produce desired entry level times" (1,989) and an "unacceptable decline in performance" (1,326).

Why would the greyhound governing bodies spread such lies about their own sports?

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And, as these are the “official” figures from the GBGB, they could be a lot higher.  The GBGB only publishes them because they were forced to by a House of Commons select committee.

David Smith, a builder’s merchant, shot around 10,000 greyhounds and only stopped because he was exposed in the national newspapers. The RTE documentary broadcast in June 2019 had some very disturbing footage of a greyhound being shot while the owner waited in the car for the collar to be returned.  Greyhounds are now ending up in China where they are used for breeding and then sent off for the dog meat trade where they face horrific ends.  The Irish Greyhound Board complained about the programme but the Irish broadcasting board dismissed their complaint.

The case of Clive Elliott - the greyhound trainer in Swindon - who was found guilty in early January of neglecting eight greyhounds (three of which were found dead in the house and one died a week later) and his own mother - shows how some of these dogs are treated.  https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/18147202.greyhound-stuffed-freezer-others-starved-swindon-dog-kennel/

The death or injury of any dog for entertainment purposes is surely unacceptable for anyone.  

The latest accounts of Gaming International show that the greyhound racing made a loss in 2018-19.  How long before the company says it can’t afford to run the stadium anymore and decides to close it down?  The speedway is great for Swindon and surely it would be better for the stadium owners to support it with other activities that have more of a future - it could be used as a conference centre, or for concerts or even be used as an athletics track.

However, from what others have said, and from looking at the history and accounts of Gaming International, it seems they have no intention of redeveloping this or any other track anyway.  

 

Edited by JessicaJones
To add a clarification point
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The ones sticking up for Greyhound Racing have suddenly gone rather quiet when faced with some facts rather than some glossed up fiction they'd rather believe about how well the dogs are treated. 

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On 1/30/2020 at 12:11 PM, Odds On said:

has anyone on here actually been around or in racing kennels?..

 

 

Yep, firstly used to own one and paid to have it trained by someone, then found out it was possible to have my own permit licence, so took out my own licence and had the Greys at my place and Trained them, then i worked for a small (10 Greys Max) private Trainer in the North West and honestly he/we fed nothing but the best, and kept them as good as any dog thats in a household, they wanted for nothing, Duvets for bedding, groomed daily, massaged daily, walked 1 hour every day, Kennels disinfected daily, you could sleep in the Kennels and on occasion i did :lol:.

   The issue is mainly with Kennels/Trainers where there are large numbers of dogs these dogs simply dont have the staff to do a dog properly, and consist mainly of the dog being let out in the paddock whilst they clean out the Kennel maybe twice a day if they are lucky, they will certainly be fed twice daily though some of the food wouldnt be top quality, basically what im saying is they are NOT trained they are what i would call kept (keepers) not trained, its all to do with economics usually most not all Kennel staff are paid cash in hand, and its far from being minimum wage, my day used to start at 8 -00am and  finish at midnight on racedays, or a last turn out around 9-00 pm on none racedays, some other Kennels i was aware of would shut up at 6-00pm and shall we say open again at around 8-00 am thats 14 hours stuck in there Kennel, like i say the money is not there for Greyhounds to be looked after properly in most cases, most Kennel hands do it for the love certainly not for the money..

 However its a fact that there is good and bad everywhere, I lost 1 greyhound through a racing injury (Yes its one to many) and its not nice when it happens, another Greyhound bitch i gave to another Trainer for free, then found out when it (Bitch) was to old to race she gave it away to a guy who bred a litter from it with a Staffy then he put the bitch down with a gun, I wasnt best pleased when i found out..

   The problem with Greyhound racing is what happens when they are incapable of racing any more, many are disposed of simply so that they have room for another race dog.. I can honestly say i have never ever had a healthy dog put down except for illness or old age, and it cracks me up when it has to be done.. 

 

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1 hour ago, greyhoundp said:

...... I have never ever had a healthy dog put down except for illness or old age, and it cracks me up when it has to be done.. 

You clearly have an accurate profile of the greyhound "industry". I use the word advisedly. I own a grey. Actually he isn't 100% thoroughbred and he wasn't a racer (no tattoos). Probably a traveller owned hare coarser. The point is, that I have become acutely aware of the darker side of the racing world. Of course there are good trainers and many of them see their responsibility extending beyond the dog's useful racing life. But the significant minority that treat their dogs as commodities, to be discarded when they are no longer fast enough, cannot be ignored. Greyhounds that escape the racing world alive, are often timid in the extreme. I know, I've met many. Given a caring environment, many come round and demonstrate their true nature. And, at the  risk of repeating myself, you will not meet a kinder, more gentle, more loving creature on God's good Earth.

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I remember last winter Lee Kilby saying the track was getting done last year and then the back straight stands done this winter (seem to recall the ready made stands in storage in Wales cropping up again.) And the home straight being next winter. Is that still the plan?

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Has anyone at the Swindon speedway club approached Dr Laurie Marsh about a new stadium?  He is a philanthropist who wanted to redevelop Swindon town centre but his plans were turned down by the council last September.  He clearly wants to do something good for Swindon and, as speedway is important to the town, he may be interested in helping out with a new stadium for the club.  It’s pretty clear by now that Clarke Osborne and his company have little interest in improving the stadium for the town and are unlikely to ever see their plans for it through.  

 

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Not sure how popular this petition is going to be on here but we are on the same side.  We want the speedway to continue and don’t think Gaming International are going to redevelop the stadium.  The council should be working with GI to ensure that the stadium is financially viable - which it currently isn’t.  The speedway is being subsidised by the greyhound racing but the greyhound racing is loss making and it looks as though GI will not fulfil its promise to redevelop the stadium, which is good news if it ends the greyhound racing but bad news for the speedway.  The council could be making a deal with the owners to let them build on the land nearby in exchange for a lump sum for the stadium.  With GI’s history, it’s unlikely that they will ever live up to their part of the bargain.  Please sign this petition to ask the council to ensure the speedway continues but without the cruelty of the greyhound racing and that a more financially viable use for the stadium is found.

http://ww5.swindon.gov.uk/moderngov/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?id=41&fbclid=IwAR0rDHAMfiyYvesTN-grF1gtjcMELTFQOZ-2BUXgvARVba47bOJY89jNWNU

 

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1 hour ago, JessicaJones said:

Not sure how popular this petition is going to be on here but we are on the same side.  We want the speedway to continue and don’t think Gaming International are going to redevelop the stadium.  The council should be working with GI to ensure that the stadium is financially viable - which it currently isn’t.  The speedway is being subsidised by the greyhound racing but the greyhound racing is loss making and it looks as though GI will not fulfil its promise to redevelop the stadium, which is good news if it ends the greyhound racing but bad news for the speedway.  The council could be making a deal with the owners to let them build on the land nearby in exchange for a lump sum for the stadium.  With GI’s history, it’s unlikely that they will ever live up to their part of the bargain.  Please sign this petition to ask the council to ensure the speedway continues but without the cruelty of the greyhound racing and that a more financially viable use for the stadium is found.

http://ww5.swindon.gov.uk/moderngov/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?id=41&fbclid=IwAR0rDHAMfiyYvesTN-grF1gtjcMELTFQOZ-2BUXgvARVba47bOJY89jNWNU

 

I take it that you are anti greyhound racing, ask the GBGB to remove the green form  whereby Trainers/Owners can put a healthy Greyhound to sleep on economic grounds, which is totally unacceptable..

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Yes, we have and are.  But even then, I wouldn’t support it as a form of entertainment.  I don’t believe in using animals for entertainment.  Taking away the green form won’t solve all the cruelty involved with greyhound racing.  

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1 hour ago, JessicaJones said:

Not sure how popular this petition is going to be on here but we are on the same side.  We want the speedway to continue and don’t think Gaming International are going to redevelop the stadium.  The council should be working with GI to ensure that the stadium is financially viable - which it currently isn’t.  The speedway is being subsidised by the greyhound racing but the greyhound racing is loss making and it looks as though GI will not fulfil its promise to redevelop the stadium, which is good news if it ends the greyhound racing but bad news for the speedway.  The council could be making a deal with the owners to let them build on the land nearby in exchange for a lump sum for the stadium.  With GI’s history, it’s unlikely that they will ever live up to their part of the bargain.  Please sign this petition to ask the council to ensure the speedway continues but without the cruelty of the greyhound racing and that a more financially viable use for the stadium is found.

http://ww5.swindon.gov.uk/moderngov/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?id=41&fbclid=IwAR0rDHAMfiyYvesTN-grF1gtjcMELTFQOZ-2BUXgvARVba47bOJY89jNWNU

 

How would you  make the stadium financially viable without Greyhounds ?  the bottom line even if you think Greyhound racing is cruel and wrong without it Speedway won't be able to run and at a  lot of tracks .

Quite clearly you must a viable  business plan on how Speedway tracks stay open without Greyhounds .

Edited by orion
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