Forever Hounds Trust are appalled by the recent video of a greyhound being boiled alive in Shijiazhuang, China but simply being appalled, is not enough. The fate of this dog is one faced by thousands in certain parts of Asia, and certain death faces all those that are unlucky enough to find themselves racing on the Canidrome track in Macau. Whilst we may not be able to influence the culture of nations thousands of miles away, we can uphold our own culture and ensure that this fate never befalls a dog leaving our shores. China is not the only country without appropriate animal welfare standards and we must ban the export of dogs to countries that do not comply with our own.
Boiling a dog alive is illegal in the UK and Ireland. Exporting dogs to countries without laws to prevent this kind of atrocity, should be no less illegal.
With a contracting UK Racing Greyhound Industry, exporting racing greyhounds abroad is an increasing issue as Irish breeders seek new outlets for their dogs. Forever Hounds Trust are calling for a change to Irish and UK legislation, to prevent the export of racing greyhounds to these countries and to restrict the numbers of dogs being bred each year.
Emily Burns-Sweeney, Director of Welfare said ‘Racing greyhounds work hard for their industry. They have a legal and moral right to a decent quality of life beyond the five years they may spend racing in the UK and Ireland. Our respective nations have long since accepted that dogs are sentient and we have laws to protect their welfare. It makes a mockery of these laws and culture, to knowingly export dogs to countries without any such welfare protection and it cannot be allowed to continue.”
Forever Hounds Trust (formerly Greyhound Rescue West of England) are asking responsible racing greyhound owners, trainers, breeders and the general public, to join us and other welfare organisations in calling for:
- UK and Irish legislation to ban the export of racing greyhounds to countries without sufficient animal welfare laws
- UK and Irish legislation to restrict the numbers of racing greyhounds being bred each year, in line with the needs of the Irish and UK racing industries
- Zero tolerance within the IGB and GBGB for those exporting dogs to these countries, to include heavy fines and removal of licences
Jan Lake, Chair of Trustees for Forever Hounds Trust said ‘We defy anyone with a shred of common decency and humanity, not to feel disgust for those who would knowingly export dogs to suffer a fate such as this. If their conscience doesn’t prevent them from exposing dogs to this horrendous end, then legislation must.’
Forever Hounds Trust will be consulting with other organisations about the most effective way to get action. In the meantime, we would urge people to sign this existing petition to end exportation of racing greyhounds to China.
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