The putting down of healthy dogs

An animal rights group revealed that every year five ruthless killers in Wales slaughter hundreds of healthy racing dogs . The reason for this practice is simply that the dogs are no longer fast enough to compete.

Greyhound Rescue Wales (GRW), who revealed the plight of these dogs’ say they know who the executioners are, the names of whom have been passed to the RSPCA who will investigate the matter.

There is a lot of money to be made in the world of greyhound racing. The biggest share goes to the bookies that make £2bn a year while the government gains at least £70m. The animal rights group say that while others reap the rewards of racing, very little money is put towards caring for the dogs. Many are retired at the age of four years even though they still have at least another ten years of active life in them.

The killings are deemed morally wrong but unfortunately not illegal. Since 1997 a bolt gun can be owned without a licence to kill animals however prosecutions can only be brought against those who do not kill humanely.

Alain Thomas, founder of GRW said, "About 500 dogs are meeting some kind of unacceptable fate here every year. GRW has been given the names of five individuals who are responsible for killing the dogs. These individuals buy large quantities of dogs from the registered sector, trial them discreetly, then keep the fastest and best one or two dogs in each batch. They dispose of the other three or four by shooting them and incinerating the bodies."