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Special Olympics Ireland urged to scrap greyhound track fundraiser
21 February 2018
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports is calling on Special Olympics Ireland to scrap plans to hold a fundraiser at a greyhound track where dogs suffer and die.
According to a report on the Irish Greyhound Board website this week, two representatives of Special Olympics Ireland recently met with the manager of Shelbourne Park track and "the group have set themselves the task of raising funds for the upcoming National Special Olympics Ireland Games due to be hosted in Dublin in June of this year."
In an email of appeal to Special Olympics Ireland, ICABS highlighted the animal cruelty inherent in the greyhound industry, with dogs injured, blooded, mutilated, doped, dumped and killed.
"We are appealing to Special Olympics Ireland, for whom we have great respect and admiration, not to fundraise at Shelbourne Park Greyhound Stadium," we stated. "We are very conscious of how difficult it is to fundraise and how every penny counts, but we wanted your committee to know how cruel the greyhound industry is and to please consider the suffering of the dogs exploited in this abusive industry."
In the past two years alone at tracks around Ireland, at least 710 dogs have suffered injuries and at least 235 were destroyed. This includes at least 66 injured at Shelbourne Park and 13 killed. The dogs sustained injuries to legs, wrists, shoulders, backs, tails, muscles and toes. An estimated 10,000 greyhounds go missing each year (presumed killed when found to be not quick enough to win races).
We hope Special Olympics Ireland will follow the good example of Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind, Parkinson's Association of Ireland and the Hope Foundation who all rejected greyhound track fundraisers when told about the suffering and death involved. Track fundraisers are directly helping to keep this dying industry afloat (through a 30-40% commission on ticket sales and revenue from food/drink/gambling on the night).
During an interview on Galway Bay FM in January, Irish Greyhound Board CEO Ger Dollard replied "Yeah" when the programme presenter put it to him that "fundraising nights at the greyhound stadiums are really central to the survival of the industry."
We are renewing our appeal to Special Olympics Ireland @SOIreland to reject fundraiser at greyhound track where dogs suffer and die https://t.co/LgXIZXJrEh pic.twitter.com/cH9mrnFAzZ
— Ban Blood Sports (@banbloodsports) March 6, 2018
ACTION ALERT
Join us in our appeal to Special Olympics Ireland to say NO to greyhound track fundraising.
Matt English
CEO, Special Olympics Ireland
Snugborough Road
Blanchardstown
Dublin 15
Tel: +353 1 8691645
Email: matt.english@specialolympics.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpecialOlympicsIreland
Tweet to: @soireland
Support the Special Olympics Ireland "5 Peaks Challenge" mountain climbing fundraiser on 12-13 May
https://community.specialolympics.ie/events/2018/5Peaks
The cruel and crumbling greyhound industry has received nearly a quarter of a billion euros of taxpayers' money since 2001 (including €16 million for 2018). Urge Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe to end funding to the greyhound industry and instead direct the money to charities and other deserving causes. Email "Stop funding the cruel greyhound industry" to taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie, leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie, paschal.donohoe@oireachtas.ie, minister@per.gov.ie
Urge Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe to end funding to the greyhound industry.
An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar
Department of the Taoiseach,
Government Buildings,
Upper Merrion St, Dublin 2
Telephone: +353 (0)1-6194020
Email: taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie, leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie
Tweet to: @campaignforLeo
Leave a comment on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/campaignforleo/
Paschal Donohoe TD
Minister for Finance
Email: paschal.donohoe@oireachtas.ie, minister@per.gov.ie
Phone: +353 (0)1 6045810
Leave a comment on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaschalDonohoe/
Tweet to @Paschald
Please sign and share our petition
Irish Government: Stop Giving Millions of Euro to Cruel Greyhound Industry
https://www.change.org/p/irish-government-stop-giving-millions-of-euro-to-cruel-greyhound-industry
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