‘Dreadful Cruelty’: Outrage after Greyhound racing goes ahead during Britain’s extreme heatwave
The races in the hot weather led to many accusations of 'cruelty' from social media users aimed at the regulators the Greyhound Board of Great Britain and animal rights charities.
TARA COBHAM: Animals lovers have been left outraged after Greyhound racing took place in stadiums across the country amid scorching temperatures of over 30C during… heatwave. The Greyhound Board of Great Britain, which regulates the sport, has been slammed for allowing the dogs to continue racing even after the Met Office issued an amber extreme heat warning… as temperatures peaked in the mid 30s Celsius (mid 80s Fahrenheit) in much of the UK.
Despite the extreme heat, the races at the end of last week went ahead because the regulator states events only need to be postponed when temperatures exceed 33C (91.4 Fahrenheit), leading to accusations of ‘cruelty’ from social media users, who also asked why animal charities like RSPCA and Dogs Trust had not taken more of a stand… The RSPCA argued it had no power over Greyhound racing and when it does or does not go ahead…
On its website, the Greyhound Board of Great Britain states races can go ahead with ‘special measures’ in place when temperatures range between 28C and 33C. The regulator also claimed the majority of its licensed tracks cancelled racing and trials last week as a result of the heat. Additionally, it writes on its website: ‘Greyhounds prefer to operate within their Thermo-Neutral Zone (TNZ) of between 10 and 26°C, with a small margin for individual animals. ‘Above 26°C, greyhounds need to expend energy to thermoregulate (cool themselves) and when the ambient temperature is high, the risk of heat stress is increased…
The races in the hot weather led to many accusations of ‘cruelty’ from social media users aimed at the regulators the Greyhound Board of Great Britain and animal rights charities that are part of The Greyhound Forum, a coalition intended to work to improve the welfare of the dogs… Someone replied, ‘Dreadful cruelty,’ while another retweeted the post and simply added the hashtag, ‘#BanGreyhoundRacing.’ A different user posted a photo of their own Greyhound sprawled out on the sofa and looking drowsy from the heat, with the caption, ‘Poor dog is laid out on the sofa and is suffering in this heat. Tell me again why we’re allowing greyhound racing to go ahead in a heatwave?’…
Meanwhile, another wrote, ‘No dogs allowed at Ellingham Show & all their dog events cancelled due to heat. It’s outrageous to allow Greyhound racing to continue in 31° heat! #BanGreyhoundRacing #YouBetTheyDie.’ The user was referring to the Ellingham dog Show, which announced earlier last week that they were asking people not to bring their dogs to the event… and had removed all dog shows from their schedule following advice from the RSPCA…
An RSPCA spokesperson said: ‘The RSPCA has serious concerns about the welfare of greyhounds being raced in the heat”… ‘The RSPCA has long had concerns about the welfare of greyhounds used in racing and, along with Dogs Trust, we have commissioned a review of racing greyhound welfare in the UK which will report this year. The review is being undertaken by independent animal welfare experts, which will allow us to take an evidence-based position and shape our future policy on this sport.’ SOURCE…
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