GRI(Greyhound Racing Ireland)CEO
falls instantly in a recent radio interview
as misinformation continues within the industry.
Gerard Dollard, CEO of GRI(ex IGB)was recently invited onto NewsTalk to defend the greyhound industry, in another attempt to win waning public support for the industry. Dollard immediately opens his defence with recent coverage of the industry being 'based on misinformation' and that 'in terms of public perception[of the industry]there has been damage done' but he believes that the industry has a 'good story to tell'.
A CEO simply cannot tell the public that misinformation is being used against the industry while the industry itself gives the public misinformation.
One example of misinformation used by the industry is on the injury figures. GRI want the public to believe that injuries are rare. To show this GRI give the public the figures for injuries in 2020 being:
255, with 88 being put to sleep out of 69,029 runners - as shown in a GRI report.
Those 69,029 runners, however, would be made up from the racing pool of approximately 3,600 greyhounds - as shown in a report Dollard freely emailed to politicians in 2019, in reference to matters raised at a Public Accounts Committee hearing.
There were not 69,029 individual greyhounds used for racing in Ireland in 2020 but this figure is used by the industry to give the public a false perception/misinformation that racing is safe and injuries/deaths are rare.
Another, concerning, example of misinformation given to the public from the industry is on the issue of the traceability of greyhounds.
The GRI record for a greyhound called IMOKRYOU has recently been updated to say 'rehomed'.
Greyhounds listed on GRI records as 'rehomed' looks great for the public - but, as well as being misinformation, it cannot 100% be relied on that a greyhound listed as rehomed has indeed been rehomed.
It has long been a concern for greyhound advocates on the truth of greyhound traceability. The new GRI traceability scheme continues to relay on the owner/breeder simply filling in a box to say that a greyhound has been rehomed.
As for IMOKRYOU, she wasn't simply rehomed. She was absolutely rescued.
Just months after being used for breeding, IMOKRYOU was taken to the dog pound with instructions not to be homed. It was, thankfully, the dedicated, caring, people from an independent rescue who negotiated the release of IMOKRYOU for homing and not for her to be destroyed.
It was 2018, when IGS first highlighted the abuse IMOKRYOU went through - but now, under the new attempts to gain public trust, GRI have listed her as simply 'rehomed'.
Sadly, IMOKRYOU is not, and will not be, the only
greyhound to be used by the industry to gain public trust.
