Brindlebabe Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Kennel Hand Breaks Silence on What’s Happening to Dogs June 3, 2009 by Freelance Writers Kennel Hand Speaks Out as the ‘Greyhound’s Voice’: A kennel hand has spoken out in sheer frustration and has published his video diaries and photographs, cataloguing the appalling level of greyhound welfare deemed acceptable by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain. The trainer’s refusal to accept his offers of help and the indifference shown to a series of complaints he made to officials regarding breaches of Racing Rules, eventually broke his silence. Neil Haine, 40 from North Dorset, contacted Greyt Exploitations - a greyhound protection group - after the complaints he lodged with his Area Steward, Colin Betteridge, regarding greyhounds being kennelled in their own excrement and urine soaked beds for three days at a time, without fresh water or any form of exercise - were ignored. Eve Blanchard, a professional trainer attached to Poole stadium, employed Mr Haine from November 2008 until his departure on May 26th, where he felt he could no longer endure the conditions suffered by the 36 greyhounds at the kennels. Mr Haine said “I asked Colin Betteridge to come and witness the disgusting conditions of the kennels I faced every Tuesday morning but when he arrived with a GBGB official, Noel Thompson, it was after 1pm. Colin was fully aware I finished at 1pm and therefore knew the kennels would be clean by this time. Regardless, I pleaded with Colin to do ’something’ but he insisted ‘kennels only need to be cleaned when deemed necessary’ - even if it meant breaking the rules†“In an effort to try and help Mrs Blanchard reduce her kennel to a more manageable size, I spoke to a trainer Mrs Blanchard trusted, about her reluctance to re-home her retired dogs. Although it confirmed rumours, I was still shocked when the trainer told me ‘just give them sleeping tablets, 2 should do the job’ and then bury them in her garden with the other 17 greyhounds†Mr Haine continued “The more I tried to help, the more abusive and obstructive Mrs Blanchard became. She stopped me cleaning the kennels, voluntarily, from Saturday lunchtime until the following Tuesday morning and even stopped me from exercising the dogs, racing or retired. It was heartbreaking going into work on Tuesday mornings, seeing the filth the dogs had been locked up in all weekend. The squalor and the stench never failed to bring tears to my eyes and a lump in my throat†“Mrs Blanchard refused to pay for the costly disposal of the old bedding and dog dirt, getting rid of it was becoming a problem and so the amount of waste had to be reduced. When I refused to just add a handful of clean bedding on top of the wet bedding, she then told me she wasn’t getting any more bedding and if I didn’t do as I was told, the dogs would have to sleep on bare boards. This was the final straw and with my wife’s support I knew we had to get help and quickly!†In a heartfelt plea, Sue Haine concluded “You all need to stand united against this despicable treatment of these beautiful creatures. The GBGB are killing the sport by ignoring this terrible abuse. Please be a voice for the greyhounds!! Mrs Blanchard’s kennels were under the spotlight earlier this year when an undercover video of the kennels was posted on the internet and as a consequence the RSPCA were called in. In January, Inspector Ken Snook, ordered a number of major structural improvements to be made. However, we spoke to Mr Snook on Monday last and he confirmed he had not been back to ensure those improvements had been carried out, preferring to phone the Greyhound Board of Great Britain and seek assurances from the very racing officials who had earlier dismissed the kennel hands concerns. A spokesperson for Greyt Exploitations said “It is abundantly clear these greyhounds were needlessly suffering and the responsibility lay with the Greyhound Board of Great Britain, in failing to enforce an Improvement Notice issued to Mrs Blanchard last November and have since consistently failed to secure the welfare needs of these innocent dogs. The welfare of animals will always be compromised where there is a profit to be made and we are appealing to the public to refrain from supporting or betting on Greyhound Racing until such a time as the commercial element is removedâ€. http://www.dogmagazine.net/archives/2635/k...pening-to-dogs/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redditchlady Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 It is about time they were exposed. Good on the kennel hand! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cycas Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Google Chrome throws a wobbler and starts talking about Malware when I click on that link - is it OK? Nice to hear the kennel hand has a conscience, dread to think what is happening without him though. :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaraMoochi Posted June 15, 2009 Report Share Posted June 15, 2009 I've just seen this thread - is there any further news on what has happened since the expose by the kennel hand? x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brindlebabe Posted June 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2009 Not as yet, but I will update when I hear anything . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReikiAnge Posted June 20, 2009 Report Share Posted June 20, 2009 Well done to him for doing what he could to help the dogs and for speaking up. A horrible situation - that I bet isn't isolated Poor dogs Google Chrome throws a wobbler and starts talking about Malware when I click on that link - is it OK? It seems fine to me - I did get an ad about subscription to the K9 magazine come up, so maybe that's what Google didn't like? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cloudy Posted June 30, 2009 Report Share Posted June 30, 2009 Bournemouth Echo North Dorset greyhound trainer asked to improve kennel standards 7:20pm Monday 29th June 2009 By Juliette Astrup » A GREYHOUND trainer from North Dorset has been asked to make improvements and cut dog numbers at her kennels. Eve Blanchard, a licensed trainer with links to Poole stadium, has more than 30 dogs at her kennels at Shillingstone. The Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) has confirmed that it is working with her on “remedial, specific improvement work†to ensure the kennels are up to standard, and that she had been required to “substantially reduce†the number of animals in her care. The news comes after former kennel hand Neil Haine, 40, went public with video diaries and photographs taken from inside the kennels, through greyhound protection group Greytexpliotatios. He made a number of accusations about the animals’ care – all of which Ms Blanchard strongly denies. Ms Blanchard, 74, who has almost 30 years’ experience as a trainer, told the Echo: “The dogs are so well and so happy.†She confirmed structural improvements were being made, including to the roof of the kennels. A GBGB spokesman said Ms Blanchard had been given a grant to make the improvements and she was being given help re-homing retired animals. He added GBGB made regular visits “to oversee the improvements and ensure the welfare of her greyhoundsâ€. The RSPCA said it had made numerous visits to the kennels since January and continued to monitor them. A spokesman for the animal charity said the inspector had found “no problems with their condition or hygiene†and that “air flow is greatly improved and roof replacement is planned to increase the lightâ€. She added the kennels met requirements but were “not as big as the RSPCA would like them to beâ€. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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