Greyhound racing is ‘affront to sport’

Sir — I applaud the GAA for banning sponsorship by betting companies.

It is an entirely appropriate move given the catastrophic effects of gambling on so many lives.

The GAA’s new policy will be in stark contrast to the ethos of our blighted greyhound industry, which is heavily dependent on gambling, as well as being steeped in corruption and animal cruelty.

Doping of dogs is widespread, as is the reckless abandonment (or killing) of greyhounds whose running days have ended or that fail to perform. And the industry encompasses hare coursing, which thrives on both gambling and a fondness for watching a harmless animal dodging injury or death in a wire-enclosed field.

All sports are bedevilled by misbehaviour and rules get broken at every game, but there’s a big difference between a foul in hurling or Gaelic football and its equivalent in either coursing or greyhound track racing.

A player may suffer a minor injury on the pitch if pushed, elbowed, or tripped. A doped dog may suffer intense pain, or die, as a result of being drugged to make it run faster or slow it down. A hare struck at high speed by a greyhound in coursing may have its bones crushed or die from a heart attack afterwards.

Or it may have to be “dispatched” with a chop to the back of the neck to quell its misery. Even the worst foul or breach of the rules in Gaelic Games wouldn’t have such dire consequences.

So I say: well done to the GAA… but shame on the vile greyhound industry. It’s an embarrassment to Ireland; an affront to the whole concept of sport, and to all true sportspeople. John Fitzgerald, Kilkenny