Going to the dogs Posted September 25, 2006 Report Share Posted September 25, 2006 His hypocrisy leaves one speechless He is certainly running scared of being regulated by an external body who might uncover all sorts of skeletons. CHAIRMAN'S NOTES "Everyone has an opinion on how the sport should be run. I am always interested to hear positive ideas. Please write to me at the BGRB. Whilst I can not reply to you all, I will read all your letters and some will feature in my monthly 'Chairman's Notes." David Lipsey. You can write to Lord Lipsey at: CHAIRMAN'S NOTES, BGRB, 32 OLD BURLINGTON STREET, LONDON WIS 3AT. CHAIRMAN'S MONTHLY REVIEW - SEPTEMBER Do you remember those pop groups that used to come along, now and again, and launch with a number one hit? The next single was eagerly awaited. But invariably it proved a total flop. Something similar was the case with the Sunday Times’s shock, horror follow-up to its Seaham revelations on 17th September. Let’s be clear: what the article alleged happened at Leigh Animal Sanctuary was not “another Seahamâ€. At Seaham, dogs were despatched with a bolt gun. At Leigh, they were euthanased, apparently under the supervision of a licensed vet. No dog was rehomed from Seaham. Many have been from Leigh, which is by all accounts a reasonably well-run animal sanctuary. Seaham was shocking, partly because it was a surprise. Apparently no word of what went on there had reached the NGRC stipendiary stewards. By contrast, there had been concerns that more dogs were going into Leigh than it could hope to rehome, and the NGRC was investigating accordingly. Seaham was a clear breach of the NGRC’s rules, for which two trainers have been warned off and heavily fined. Leigh demonstrated no such breach. Euthanasia is an option permitted by the rules for owners when no other option is available. There is nothing in the latest revelations to throw off course greyhound racing’s post-Seaham strategy. That, in a nutshell is to tackle the problems which Seaham highlighted to accelerate the progress we are already making on the welfare front. The core of a solution is to bring into better balance the number of dogs needing rehoming with the number of places we can find for them. This means measures to extend dogs’ racing careers, and here improving track surfaces to reduce injuries is crucial. It also means publicising rehoming. The Retired Greyhound Trust has done fabulously well to double the number of dogs rehomed over the past five years, helped with a five-fold increase in grants from the British Greyhound Racing Fund. If it was to do as well again over the next 5-6 years – admittedly a tall order – our rehoming problems would be behind us. One encouraging feature post-Seaham has been the way greyhound racing has come together. I am chairing a body of all those involved to oversee the adoption of the new policies we need. Beneath that sit three committees: one led by the NGRC looking for example at the tracking of dogs; one led by BGRB looking for example at the role of the RGT; and one led by the promoters looking for example at track safety. We aim to have finished work by the end of the year. I believe we can expect a substantial package of measures which will impress the general public and persuade parliament. For parliament does have to be persuaded that we are in deadly earnest about welfare. Otherwise we shall have imposed regulation in place of self-regulation, as the animal welfare charities would like. I am convinced that government regulation would cost far more than self-regulation. More important, it would do nothing like as much for the dogs. But it is not I who has to be convinced. Make no mistake; the battle ahead involves nothing less than whether greyhound racing has a future. I look to everyone in greyhound racing to help me demonstrate that we do care about our dogs; and will do more for them than government bureaucrats could ever hope to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elricc Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 Lord Lipsey is no longer the patron of a greyhound charity which is wonderful news Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReikiAnge Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 Lord Lipsey is no longer the patron of a greyhound charity which is wonderful news Fantastic! Couldn't quite understand why he ever was, I must admit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClazUK Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 Lord Lipsey is no longer the patron of a greyhound charity which is wonderful newsDid he jump or was he pushed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavenderblue Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 I was wondering the same thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elricc Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 No idea wether he jumped or not, they didn't answer that part of my question, just glad he has gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brindlebabe Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 I'd like to know who made the decision . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LurcherLongdog Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 Lord Lipsey is no longer the patron of a greyhound charity which is wonderful news Fantastic news! Absolutely ludicrous that he was a patron in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhound pal Posted October 8, 2006 Report Share Posted October 8, 2006 Ridiculous it had to come to this before he went... But also glad he's gone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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