Stop cruel export of greyhounds
Retired racers flown 3,700 miles & bred for pig hunting
GREYHOUNDS past their prime are being shipped abroad into a life of hell, a charity claims.
The dogs are flown 3,700 miles to Pakistan to race on illegal tracks in “intolerable” conditions with little or no animal welfare, says CAGED Nationwide.
And when they’re too slow to race, they’re sold off to pig hunters and used to breed pups to hunt and fight wild boar.
British trainers can pocket up to £2,000 from each greyhound they sell. CAGED claims more than 50 have been sent to Pakistan in the past six months
One named Banner Glory last raced at Doncaster three years ago and was pictured on a Pakistani greyhound Facebook page last March.
His UK owner had been Joseph Fisher – a former Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) licensed trainer at Birmingham’s Perry Barr track.
He told us he’d sold the dog to another UK trainer for £600 in 2019. Mr Fisher said: “The guy said he’d be racing him at Peterborough. I’m not happy he’s ended up in Pakistan.
I would never condone that.”
Rita James of
CAGED said: “We want to know how
Banner Glory came to be in the possession of a racing group in Pakistan.
“Dogs are raced there in intolerable conditions with no trackside vets. Then they are commonly sold on to pig hunters who breed them.
“Their offspring will be used to fight wild boar. It’s horrific. Dogs are normally torn to shreds, bleeding to death.”
Shipping papers show another UK trainer sent dogs to Pakistan. He could not be reached for comment.
Industry regulator the Greyhound Board of Great Britain says it is committed to the wellbeing of former racers.
Its website states: “Wherever possible, every dog leaving racing enjoys a long and happy retirement.”
But Rita said: “It’s often presumed all retired greyhounds are placed in loving homes. This is simply not the case.”
CAGED wants a ban on all greyhound exports in the UK and Ireland.
A GBGB spokesman said owners are required to inform the board where their greyhound has been placed once they have retired from the sport.
He added: “It is not illegal to export dogs to countries with unverified welfare standards but this is not something that GBGB condones.”
CAGED has launched a petition demanding better regulation of retired greyhound kennel premises. Sign it at petition.parliament.uk/petitions/563089.