Not much chance of that – a couple of hundred euro fine maybe ..

True Emsy. In Italy, they are loved for their elegance and are kept as pets. Unfortunately, here we seem to have only one view of their usefulness, which is racing them to make money. That’s fair enough, in and of itself, but the callous disregard for them once they are no longer ” useful ” is shameful.

Yeah,we had one when I was younger. Bella,she was a real pet and a great hunter too. I just don’t understand the lack of value some people have. I’m not a vegetarian or anything but that doesn’t mean I think cruelty or torture are acceptable. This is wrong on so many levels. Could they not have even dumped them off at shelters and given them a CHANCE of survival?

@Roy Scott,

Interesting point, I am sure the animal welfare will be checking their skeletal remains for abuse. Hopefully they will be inspecting, digging for more remains in the area, which I am quite sure, there are many. Cruel, cruel scum. Use, abuse, dump. Rotten, rotten people.

Come on Senead, deal with the paperwork, whoever has it.

Was wondering if they were microchipped. At least then they can be traced back to their owner

Can the dogs be traced via their ear tattoos?

Fine Gael, and some unhelpful Fianna Fail TDs blocked that, and FG also wants to exempt hare coursing from prohobituion under the upcominbg animal welfare bill. People need to tell their TDs to act on this.

In fairness thats alot better then bashing its head in and burying it in a mass grave with other dogs. He wasn’t a total c..t.

Martin I agree but at least the GH was given a chance to find a new forever home

Yes and also try to remove layers of skin from the ear to hide the tattoo :( There are a few greyhound and lurcher rescues in the country and honestly the dogs they get I’m can be in such upsetting states. They do their best but they can’t save them all. Some dogs are surrendered near death. Why would someone wait that long???

Yeah a death penalty

Youre big on the ol death penalty Padraic.

A death penalty for the perps here I say

Patrick, the entire industry is steeped in animal cruelty and corruption. Anyone who is sickened by the recent discovery might consider backing the Private Members Bill to be introduced shortly by Deputies Clare Daly and Maureen O’ Sullivan to ban hare coursing, another exhibit in this discredited industry’s Hall of Shame…

Money…indeed. The greyhound is caught up in a huge gambling industry. The marathon “Irish Cup” hare coursing event for example is sponsored by no less a figure than JP McManus, who, as is evident from the Sunday Independent “Rich List” is a man of staggering wealth.

Could JP not find a more worthy cause, or event, to sponsor, than this disgusting three day “festival”.

Here’s footage of the event. I think JP and others who support this kind of activity should re-think their values and their attitudes to ill-treatment of animals.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL741E0B6DA3CBB057

This is a horrible event, but ashamed to be human because of a mass grave of dogs? There’s wars, corruption and gangland crime across the globe, if anything that should make you ashamed to be human.

Call me jaded but when I read “mass grave”, I expected the story to be about at least dozens of dogs.

If it was six humans and they said mass grave, would you be expecting the same thing? Or would you say six satisfies a mass grave description?

Yes I’m aware they were dozens of dogs, I still wouldn’t change my statement

So now you get thumbed down for disagreeing with bashing animals in side of head .. Whatever !

We don’t put pets down for free. There’s the euthanasia fee and the disposal charge for cremation. Also, why have it put to sleep when they make lovely pets? They could’ve made a great companion for someone. I can see where you’re coming from though. The manner of their death and subsequent disposal is appalling, I can see why you might wonder why they didn’t go to a vet. Vets cost money, end of. The abuse I see almost every week as a result of people ‘cutting costs’ would make you sick. I know It’s horrific but I’m not really surprised. :S

@louise , I was only basing my comment on personal experience, where I’m from one of the local vets doesn’t charge to put animals down so that scumbags like these people in the limerick scenario can’t use cost as an excuse for cruelty, it is such a waste to see beautiful animals destroyed by any means before their time however bashing an animals head in just shouldn’t be an option, and to think people compare other people to animals as an insult ?!

I know. It’s why I can wait for some legislation to be brought in. If they had some restrictions on the number of dogs they could breed we would hopefully see less of this. Greyhounds are such couch potatoes when they’re kept as pets and they have a lovely nature. These people are vile.

Well said Ailis Mckernan.

Two years ago, a number of greyhounds were found dumped near a premier seaside resort. They were severely mutilated and obvioulsy had been subjected to a vicious and brutal death. Owing to their “build” these were identified as coursing greyhounds. Unfortunately hare coursing clubs take a dim view of greyhounds that fail to show a killer instinct. The ones that don’t make the grade are liable to end up with a bullet in the head, or being led to a quarry like the one in Limerick for “execution”.

Exactly Michael. The two issues are inter-connected. Coursing greyhounds are blooded with live animals, another dimension to the whole rotten business. The government must not be allowed to get away with granting a special exemption to coursing from prohibition under the new Animal Health and Welfare Bill. I hope Deputies Clare Daly and Maureen O’ Sullivan will get the support they deserve in the Dail when they introduce their Bill to abolish hare coursing.

It would help if hare coursing were banned, because apart from the horrific cruelty the “sportsmen” inflict on the hares, the dogs are dumped once they have outlived their value. Not all greyhound owners are cruel to the dogs, but unfortunately many of them are. What can you expect of people who se nothing wrong with terrorizing hares and watching them being mauled and battered…and see this as “entertainment”?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D58qbzC-GI4&feature=player_embedded

So where else does it happen ? Can you tell the authorities please if you know .

That should read @come out against”

Smart alec idiot. You write this crap and think it gives you some kind of literary kudos. There are many decent people who devote a lot of time to alleviating the suffering of animals. That’s a joke to a certain type of lowlife who can’t identify with the plight of animals cruelly ill-treated. I happen to respect their integrity and compassion. Interestingly, when these armchair critics/aspiring intellectual cynics suffer pain themselves, they don’t see the funny side of it. Such is life.

@John, probably dog food to some GH whose going to have its head bashed in when it can’t make a profit anymore.

If it wasn’t for the generosity of many of the people in bordering many animal charities would cease to exist. World Horse Welfare, sees no problem with horses racing – they are probably the most pampered animals around. There are welfare issues anywhere animals are kept by humans. I’d have far more problems with what goes on in halal abbatoirs than in the highly visible and well policed racing game. As for greyhounds, which is the topic of the piece, I don’t know much about the sport but I do know you won’t find a better dog to adopt than a former racer. They are quiet, friendly, loyal and like nothing more than to rest in front of the fire for as long as they can get away with.

The Irish greyhound industry is rotten to the core. Coursing clubs set up hares to be terrorized and mauled and battered for fun. Hares, rabbits, and even cats are fed LIVE to greyhounds as part of their training. And the greyhounds they use to inflict pain and suffering are then deemed expendable. The lucky ones get a quick death, but many are beaten to a pulp with spades or shovels.

Irish horses sent to Japan and China for slaughter?? Sounds extremely expensive and unnecessary considering the overall profit you get from a horse carcass.

Unwanted horses will go for slaughter here in Ireland. People do not transport live animals across continents for them to end up going to the factory. Horses here are used primarily for dog food, and only if it has been shot. If a horse is put to sleep by injection they go straight for cremation. Not all racehorses are put to sleep, some are rehomed.

Just for the sake of clarity, we’ve done two Syrian stories today alone (you’ll find all of them here), and we covered the Pakistani avalanche over the weekend when it occurred.

Very unfair comment Lelookcoco – perhaps you should follow The Journal more carefully.

And you felt a need to post such a disrespectful comment because??

“the wrath of the journal hacks descends”
WTF are you talking about??

Lelookcoco, you’re changing the goal posts from your previous post once it was pointed out to you that The Journal did report on those items. You read the articles that interest you and skip the ones that don’t – just like in a newspaper. Criticising a news website for reporting on an item just because you don’t find it particularly important is ridiculous. The format of listing items as they are posted is pretty interesting in my opinion, particularly when compilation posts are also included (5 at 5, etc). This isn’t ‘wrath’ from a Journal ‘hack’, just some observations.

And by posting here, you are now making yourself fair game. In which case I am entitled to call you an idiot :)