Brindlebabe Posted November 9, 2009 Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 ANIMAL welfare groups face having to find homes for up to 50 dogs following the closure of Swansea's greyhound track at the weekend. Fears that dozens of dogs could be abandoned at the Fforestfach stadium after its last race on Saturday night proved unfounded. But, even so, groups working together to ensure a happy outcome for the animals have said there is a lot of work to be done. Penny Hard from Greyhound Rescue Wales, one of the six organisations involved, said: "We took two dogs away from the stadium. "One of them was given to us by its owner on the night, but the other was left there after we had gone. "We were told about it and have since been back to collect it. "However, a number of responsible owners have also arranged to hand their dogs over to us in the coming two to three weeks." Swansea Greyhound Stadium has been forced to close after organisers failed to secure a long term-lease for the site with council bosses. Animal welfare groups launched Operation Greyhound with the aim of putting the dogs in new homes. The Dogs Trust, Greyhound Rescue Wales, Greyhound Welfare, RSPCA Cymru, RSPCA Llys Nini and Swiss Valley Greyhound Rescue are working together alongside the stadium and the council. They have brought in 30 emergency kennels, with Morrisons providing a stockpile of food. Sixteen greyhounds were rescued before Saturday night's operation. Mrs Harding said in total the organisations expected to take in between 30 and 50 dogs over the next few weeks. "We will be assessing them before finding them suitable new homes because we have a policy of non-destruction,'' she added. "What we will have no way of knowing is how many dogs will be unaccounted for. It's a very sad and worrying situation." Article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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