The Beastly Beasts

BeastBlog is usually a light hearted affair; this post is not.

five, the UK TV broadcaster, are using greyhound racing clips as channel idents. If you think the same as I do about the greyhound racing industry, please send a polite e-mail to customerservices@five.tv outlining the issue with the greyhound racing industry, and asking them to stop showing these clips immediately.

Please bear in mind that the people at five are probably ignorant of the realities of the greyhound racing industry, and you may want to point them to resources on the internet such as the Greyhound Action website (www.greyhoundaction.co.uk) and their fact sheets (#7 in particular) for further information.

This is the e-mail I sent to them. Please feel free to copy and modify it for your own use.

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to you concerning the use of greyhound racing clips as channel idents currently being used by five, and would ask the the use of such images is stopped at the earliest opportunity.

Greyhound racing is a sport who's time has passed; greyhound stadia are closing throughout the UK, and the other countries. The dogs for the most part are not even treated as animals, but merely commodities; and it has recently been shown to be a corrupt industry with the doping of animals taking place.

To give one recent example of the issues: on 27th January this year a dog was injured at the Abbey Moor stadium (Glastonbury) after running into the side of the track. It laid there for 10 minutes crying in agony before it eventually died. Admittedly this is only one incident, but many others can be found at the Greyhound Action website, www.greyhoundaction.co.uk ; I would refer you in particular to sheets 1, 2 and 7. Please be warned that these do not make for pleasant reading or viewing.

It is (conservatively) estimated that over 10,000 greyhounds per year are destroyed by the greyhound racing industry, and many more are simply abandoned and/or mutilated by cutting off their ears to prevent traceability; either because they reach the end of their useful career, or do not show enough promise to be successful at the track. Those that are injured while racing are often are not treated properly; one of my own greyhounds was rescued one day away from being destroyed because his broken foot, an injury sustained during training and not treated, meant he was no longer able to run fast enough. And even when healthy the greyhounds are often kept in conditions that no-one with any degree of compassion would consider adequate; cages only just big enough to turn around in, hard floors, and no mental stimulation.

Of course their are owners who treat their dogs well, and care for them throughout their lives. Unfortunately they are a very small minority.

I am sure that five does not wish to be associated with a corrupt industry that makes profit out of cruelty to animals, and would urge the company to stop showing these images immediately.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I look forward to hearing from you regarding the action taken on this matter.

Yours sincerely,
Mr. C. Yates

Thanks in advance for your help.