#irishgreyhound

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Dapper Doggos 🎩

Robert recently won first place at pups in the parks best dressed event 🐾

He strutted his stuff around the arena and went home very pleased with himself with his blue ribbon and new prizes!

Photo credit to Canines of Cork

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Love is like a wildflower garden, there’s all sorts of colours to be found 🌈

Today is the last day of Pride Month, and what better way to mark it than a colourful rainbow of hounds in a rainbow wildflower garden! 🌸 Us Greyhounds come in all colours and sizes, and we don’t care who our humans love as long as they love us too! There’s no room for hate or bigotry in our Rescue Hound Pack (unless it’s hating Greyhound Racing of course! ❌)!

We hope everyone had a joyous Pride Month! Stay Loud and Proud 🌈

#ImageDescription: Robert the Greyhound (fawn/blonde) stands beside Molly (brindle) and Ned (Black) the Greyhounds wearing anti-racing vests and rainbow bandanas in a wildflower garden.

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“You can’t force a Dog to Run”

That is a sentence used by practically every pro-greyhound racing supporter at some stage during any greyhound racing argument. And there’s a kernel of truth there, you can’t stop a dog from running, and Greyhound do indeed love to run and have a genetic instinct to chase. But what happens when the dog doesn’t want to run?

This is Greyhound “Songful Bird”. She is 23 months old, born and bred in Ireland, exported and racing in the UK. Whilst being loaded into Trap Two at Kinsley Greyhound Track, Songful Bird very clearly did not want to enter the box and struggled to get away from the steward/handler. She made a break from the box but was pinned to the ground by Four grown men and roughly manhandled back into the trap. Upon leaving the box, she veers dramatically across the track, almost clipping another dog and endangering the rest with her erratic running pattern. This is not a dog running for fun, but a dog, panicked and running in fear.

Songful Bird very clearly did not want to race at this occasion, and despite her attempt to flee, was forced into a situation where she was distressed, roughly handled and potentially suffered physically injury but the grown man falling ontop of her or the resulting blind panic run away from her aggressors. The race should have been stopped at the first sign of issue, or the very least, Songful Bird should have been pulled from the running. But the bookmakers were already set up and ready, and for them, the show must go on.

Very telling that none of the stewards present felt anything was wrong forcefully shoving the dog into the trap, and that neither a track vet or welfare officer stepped in at any point to remove the clearly distressed dog from the situation. If welfare was truly at the heart of Greyhound Racing, Songful Bird would not have been put through this abuse.

If you love Dogs, Dont Support Greyhound Racing.

TW: #AnimalAbuse, #DogAbuse, #PhysicalManhandling, #DogNeglect, #DistressedAnimal, #DistressedDog

[robert-the-greyhound]

“Don’t Split Hares. Coursing is Cruel.”

That’s the phrase printed on what is possibly my personal favourite placard. It’s the placard we held at this years protest outside Clonmel Racecourse during the Coursing meet. Last year we stood in the same spot, in horrific weather, the wind blowing under every hood, the rain soaking every gloved hand, chilled to the bone. But what is more chilling is the shrill, child-like shriek of a terrified Hare. This year, we got some sunnier weather, but the scene in front of us, unlike the weather, had not improved much.

Once again, dozens of cars piled into the Clonmel Racecourse carpark and watched Irish Hares run terrified from a pair of Greyhounds, all under the guise of “tradition” and “sport”. Once again, peaceful protestors stood outside the gates, bearing witness. Unlike last year, the Garda seemed legitimately neutral, and spent most of their time on traffic control, monitoring both the protestors and the coursing attendants, keeping some of the more rowdy in line. That’s not to say there wasn’t some trouble, on both sides. Pro-coursers threw insults, middle finger salutes and some dangerous driving tactics to try and scare those opposed them. Some of the Anti-Bloodsport protestors moved from the main body to stand on their own, much to the displeasure of some of the Gardai. Nothing illegal on either side, but certainly distasteful.

Many will shame me for speaking ill of people “on my side”, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I think it’s important to call out the extremists on both sides. Protest should be Peaceful. It’s a vigil to the innocent animals suffering at the hands of humans. Causing trouble and stirring the pot does no good for the cause, and puts a bad taste in peoples mouths. If you want to make real changes, you have be the better person. You cannot condemn the abusers if you yourself turn around and abuse others, verbally or physically.

There was a few noticeable differences from last years protest, apart from the weather. There was noticeably more people on the Anti-Coursing side, especially those local to the area as a whole. Oftentimes, when protesting against a large event in the community, locals will be very vocally against it online, but feel unease about attending a protest in person. Why? It’s fairly simple when you think about it- You don’t sh*t where you eat. For many, this event is a once a year protest, one of many they choose to attend. For locals, once the day is over, they still have to live, work and socialise in the area. You don’t want to cause major strife with the people you have to get on with for the rest of the area. That being said, there was a big increase in local support this year.

There was also a big increase in foreign support for the coursers. The number of Northern Irish and UK Registration plates was noticeably higher than previous years. Since Hare Coursing has been banned in Northern Ireland and the UK, coursing enthusiasts are travelling down in droves to one of the last recesses for this barbaric “sport”. Iconic isn’t it, that the country that introduced the bloodsport to Ireland via colonialism, has banned the act, yet the former colony continues to claim that the sport is part of our culture.

For those unfamiliar, Hare Coursing is the pursuit of a Live Hare by a pair of Greyhounds to see who can cause the Hare to Turn from it's course first. Pitting an animal with superior agility against two with superior speed and strength. The animals involved have no concept of sport, the Hare does not understand that this chase is a game, nor do the hounds. For them, it's instinct, to run and to chase. It's only a sport for the humans watching, who derive some sort of pleasure from watching a small animal run scared from a pair of predators.

The Hares suffer immense stress and fear throughout the Coursing Season. The initial round up involves flushing the wild hares from their home into waiting nets only to be manhandled into boxes and transported across the country where they will be kept in unnaturally large social groups for a predominantly solitary animal. Pro-coursers claim that they care for the hare by providing vaccines and health checks, releasing any pregnant, old or injured animals and providing feed and shelter for them during the cooler months. But that's like arguing that just because SeaWorld feeds and provides Vet Care for their Orcas that it's justifiable to steal them from the wild and imprison them in tiny tanks. The Animals shouldn't be in that position in the first place. And not unlike the Ocras at SeaWorld, the Hares are then expected to entertain the masses by participating in the sport they've been captured for. Well, it's only a sport when both sides know they are playing, and for the prey animal Hare, the course is a life of death run from predator Greyhounds. The animal is terrified, fleeing from their pursuers. Pro-Coursers once again claim it's ok as the Greyhounds are muzzled now when they course, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a 4kg animal versus two 40kg+ animals at speed. The human equivalent would be a pedestrian against a bus. Hares are routinely hit, tumbled, turned, rolled, flipped, crushed, pinned and mauled by the Greyhounds, who will use their muzzle and claws as battering ram on their quarry. Those hares that are injured often have to wait to be treated or euthanised, with one coursing vet on record saying he will see to the hares AFTER his own Greyhound had coursed.

I would say that this classifies as the "unnecessary suffering" supposedly banned in the Animal Welfare Act, but wait! Don't you know Hare Coursing has a specific exception from those laws? Almost as if they know that what they are doing, the action of it, does not have the Hares Welfare at Heart. Pro-coursers claim that the Hare evolved to run from predators, that it's natural for them, but that doesn't mean that they aren't stressed and terrified when they are being hunted. Nature is brutal, foxes and hawks kill Hares daily, but they kill for food, matched up in an evolutionary niche. No animal should be purposely terrified in the name of sport.

The tide is turning on Hare Coursing, the support for this outdated “sport” is dwindling and public opposition is rising. It seems almost every few days there’s a debate or speech mentioning the plight of the poor irish hare. We can only hope that we as a people can finally come together to change the law around this sport, remove the exception of hare coursing from the animal welfare act and leave our wildlife in peace! Until such a day though, we will continue to speak up.

Don’t Split Hares, Coursing is Cruel.

[robert-the-greyhound]

I seem to have ✨Misplaced✨ my Ears….

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Why do they look like they about to drop the hottest album of the summer 😂

[robert-the-greyhound]

Free Greyhound Kisses! 😘

[robert-the-greyhound]

The Aftermath; Rising of the People.

The airing of "Greyhounds, Running for their Lives" was a real turning point for Greyhound Welfare Activists in Ireland. It was a literal key to a locked door we had been trying to pick with a hairpin for years. It brought to light the dark underbelly of the Greyhound Racing and Coursing Industries on a national viewing platform. Finally, the world REALLY saw the Truth.

I remember my mother calling me the day after. She was very upset, and said she had to turn the last part off due to the incredibly distressing images and videos. My mother has always been a rather sensitive soul when it comes to Animals. She'll watch a horror or slasher film where guts and blood fly but changes channel when Bondi Vet comes on as she doesn't have the stomach for it. But after watching two parts of the documentary, she was truly shaken at what was happening in this country and abroad, all off the back of her taxpayer money. I remember her saying how she had listened to me and my rants but more-so in a "that's nice honey" kind of way. Seeing everything I'd claimed on the national broadcaster platform really brought to light all the information I had previously shared.

She wasn't the only family member to reach out. Having moved across the country from my extended family years prior, I was very much outside the loop of family chattering. But uncles, aunts, cousin's, they all sent messages or called to chat about the Documentary, ask after Robert and ask what THEY as individuals could do to help. And they weren't the only ones.

Messages FLOODED into the Greyhound Awareness Cork Pages, as well as Roberts personal social media. Outraged citizens wanted to know what they could do to help. At first, we didn't really know what exactly to tell these people, messaging in their hundreds. It was like a dam had broken and flooded our little River valley of awareness events and protests. Now instead of a handful of dedicated Greyhound Activists, we had half of Cork looking to lend their voice to the voiceless!

So we organised a Rally. A march through Cork City Centre. A demonstration that we, the people, are ANGRY and won't stand for the continued systemic abuse and neglect of Irish Greyhounds.

The day of the March was incredible. Arriving on Grand Parade to see hundreds of people standing where previously only a dozen had was breath-taking. Seeing dozens of rescued greyhounds where before we were lucky to have three or four was likewise inspiring, though it once again drew to light the reality of just how few greyhounds made it out of the industry into loving homes.

Robert and I were invited to lead the way, alongside fellow greyhound advocates and rescue hounds Farloe, Molly and Cooper. There was a short speech to begin before we marched, moving up Grand Parade, down Oliver Plunkett Street and back up Patrick's Street. People stopped their shopping and joined us, or leant their support vocally, joining the chants of "There's No Excuse for Greyhound Abuse" or "You Bet, They Die". The support was truly incredible.

The one thing I remember clearly that surprised me at the time was the raw emotion. Animal cruelty always seems to strike a chord with people, but having been speaking up for Greyhounds and aware of these issues for so long before they were made public, I had started to become a little numb. There was always another case of horrific abuse. Another death on the track. Another rescue begging for help for the "take them or ill get rid of them hounds". Another dog turning up in Spain, Pakistan or China. Always more abuse, death and neglect. But standing in Cork City Centre, my best fur-iend Robert by my side, surrounded by hundreds of people yelling their support for the cause, I actually felt emotional.

The March for Greyhounds through Cork City harnessed the new found limelight brought about by the RTE documentary and the the industry and the movement even further into the public eye. There were multiple photographers trailing along the march, photographing the event. Likewise, there were news reporters, recording and streaming the march, taking interviews and asking everyone and anyone for a comment. The answers were all the same; We are here for the Dogs. The thousands of Greyhounds culled annually in pursuit of profit. The 6000 innocent lives lost every year. We are here, and our demands are clear- We want an end to the abuse of Greyhounds on the back of our taxpayer money.

The march went smoothly, with little to no hassle outside of a few snide comments from pro-racing passers-by. The morning after, our story and mission was the headline for every local paper. Photos and videos of the march were all over social media. It was a resounding success. Our first BIG event had worked out perfectly, raising awareness and pushing for an end of the plight of greyhounds.

Even the day after the march, the messages kept coming in. The public were riled up and people wanted to know what else they could do. Writing letters to local reps didn’t seem to satisfy that itch. Sharing information on social media didn't feel personal enough. People wanted to physically go out and protest, so that's what we did. We organized another trackside protest. And the turnout was phenomenal.

Previous trackside protests had been a few dozen people at a push, with a handful of dogs if the weather allowed. Now it was a highly organised event, needing high vis jackets and a team of organisers, the whole of GAC was run ragged keeping everyone in check.

That protest was an emotional one, and one of the only times we changed from a silent protest to a vocal one. It was better to organize the outrage into a single cry than try and corral the outbursts. There’s always one or two that get too riled up and start yelling “scum” or trying to spit back at those driving into the track, those few individuals who get so emotionally charged they lose sight of the end goal of a peaceful protest and lash out instead for some immediate satisfaction. To prevent said outbursts, we organized into a single cry “there’s no excuse for greyhound abuse”. Pauline McLynn once again joined us, giving a short speech which I streamed Live on Roberts Instagram for another hundred or so viewers. The support really was incredible.

And it didn’t stop there. After the initial outrage and flood of support had broken the dam, a steady river of messages and requests came in, and so began what I can only describe as the Greyhounds summer tour of Cork.

TW: #Animal Abuse #Animal Death #Dog Abuse, #Dog Death, #Drugs, #Animal Rights, #Protest

Photo Credit: Karl Kachmarksy