A greyhound that is competing in the racing game must be in good health, fed the best diet possible and well cared for -Wrong! Many greyhounds reach rescue centres (usually directly from trainers and owners) with fleas, worms, mange and (even at a young age) they have terrible teeth due to their soft diet. The dogs in rescue centres are the lucky ones - they have a future, but what is the truth about the racing industry.

It is estimated that around 30,000 greyhounds are bred each year in Britain and Ireland. One third of these are believed to be killed before they reach their first birthday when they fail their first trials. This means 20,000 new racing dogs are reaching the tracks every year so what happens to the dogs who are being replaced? The racing industry claim that most of these dogs are adopted out as pets. We do not believe that this is true! So what happens to them?

We understand that:

• Many are destroyed after injuries are incurred
• Every year thousands of greyhounds are either drowned, poisoned, beaten to death, shot, bludgeoned, starved or dumped (often muzzled) on the streets.
• Many greyhounds are sold to research laboratories.
• Large numbers of greyhounds are exported to Spain each year for racing, hunting and coursing. They live in appalling conditions and are locked in cages for 23 hours a day. Many dogs have been raced on Spanish tracks with horrific injuries and some Spanish trainers believe the dog will run faster if the end of its tail is cut off. In Spain it is tradition to hang dogs at the end of the hunting season which only lasts for four months.
• Many greyhounds are bought to help train bull terriers as fighting dogs.
• Greyhounds can be disposed of in many ways for £10 per head. One of the methods used is to shoot the dog through the head. A man was reported to the courts and convicted of this method which deemed he had been cruel to the dog--however he appealed which was granted by the Sheriff who was not satisfied that the crown had not produced evidence that the dog had suffered pain- therefor the stated case has shown this method of disposal has been accepted only if it cannot be proved the dog did not suffer. It is very difficult to prove this if the dog is not seen to be shot by concerned people.
• In the 1990s there were over 50 documented cruelty cases involving thousands of racing greyhounds.