Joan Collins TD  - End Greyhound Cruelty
Channel: Joan Collins
Date: 2019-07-02

End Greyhound Cruelty  -  Action, Not Weasley Words, Will Have An Impact On Mistreatment Of Greyhounds! 

Steps must be taken clinically and quickly to show the greyhound industry this behaviour will not be tolerated. We must see an end to the cruelty to these dogs, the way they are being treated and exported as well as the way hares are treated in the industry. 

Ministers pay only lip service to the issue and are not joining the dots when it comes to the links between cruel and illegal activities and the way in which dogs are being bred. It is no wonder they are not joining the dots: animal welfare is currently divided among four Departments and the legislation relies heavily on self-regulation rather than robust enforcement of animal welfare laws. I want to hear from the Minister of State that will change things.

I am asking the Minister of State to tell the Irish greyhound industry immediately that its funding will be stopped if these issues are not dealt with. 

We should only issue passports to greyhounds going to countries with welfare conditions of a standard as high as our own and that should be double checked. Licences for hare coursing and netting should be stopped immediately until they are investigated. These sorts of things, and not the weaselly words I have heard from the Minister today, will have an impact. It is not good enough.