Howl of protest over 'appalling' greyhound deal (Fiona Hall MEP)

Fiona Hall MEP <info@fionahall.org.uk>

Howl of protest over 'appalling' greyhound deal

April 12, 2011 3:51 PM

An export deal which would see thousands of greyhounds sold to China has been attacked as appalling by animal welfare campaigners and politicians in the North East.

The deal, struck by the Irish Greyhound Board, would mean dogs were bred to be transported over to China, where there are serious concerns over animal welfare.

Trudy Baker, from Redcar, runs a greyhound welfare group and she was one of 40 campaigners who travelled to London on Saturday for a protest outside the Irish Embassy.

Trudy said, "According to the latest research - over 15,000 greyhounds are destroyed annually in the UK and Ireland because of the racing industry. If greyhounds were to be exported to China the situation would become even worse because there are no animal welfare laws - resulting in thousands of dogs simply bludgeoned to death as a means of population control"

Trudy is leading the campaign against the export deal in the North East and has now enlisted the help of two prominent local politicians - her MP Ian Swales and MEP Fiona Hall.

North East MEP Fiona is one of more than 5000 people who have signed the petition to stop the export of greyhounds to China.

She said, "The fate which would await these dogs is almost certainly horrific. There are real concerns about practices surrounding the greyhound racing industry even in countries with strict welfare rules. There are no such rules in China, where dogs are skinned alive and killed for human consumption. The Greyhound Board should drop these export plans immediately."

Redcar MP Ian Swales, who is set to take up the issue of Greyhound racing in Parliament, said, "I met with Trudy recently in my constituency to discuss matters surrounding Greyhound welfare and was upset to hear the way they are treated. I will certainly be raising the issue of scrutiny of the Greyhounds welfare in Parliament and will certainly be looking into this issue of exporting Greyhounds to China as this is unacceptable and must be investigated."