Greyhound industry asks to be exempt from new breeding Bill

REPRESENTATIVES FROM the greyhound industry have asked Green Party leader John Gormley to exempt it from the Dog Breeding Establishments Bill.

The Seanad will resume debate on the draft legislation today.

According to the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the legislation is “long overdue” as “Ireland has become known as the ‘puppy farm capital’ of Europe” and has “no regulations governing its practice”.

If passed by the Oireachtas the law would require each local authority to have a register of dog breeding establishments, who would have to register and pay an annual fee. Offenders could be fined up to €5,000 or jailed “for up to six months”.

When he published the Bill Mr Gormley said: “We have all seen some of the appalling images of illegal puppy farms, and this legislation will put an end to those who would run backstreet operations.”

However, the chairman of the Irish Greyhound Board, Dick O’Sullivan, said greyhounds were already regulated by the Greyhound Industry Act of 1958 and the industry was “already compliant with standards that are in fact higher than those” proposed by Mr Gormley.

In a statement, the board said it “welcomed” efforts to end puppy farming but it wished to “avoid conflicting legislation which would add to the financial burden on greyhound breeders and trainers without providing any benefit in terms of animal welfare”.

During a debate in the Seanad, Mayo-based Fine Gael Senator Paddy Burke said “it would be to the detriment of the greyhound industry if fees and regulations were imposed under both the 1958 Act and this legislation”.

His party colleague, Waterford-based Senator Paudie Coffey, said “we do not hear many complaints about the maltreatment of greyhounds because this is a well-regulated industry” and that “imposing further fees, regulation and bureaucracy could threaten the viability of the industry”.

Mr Gormley told Senators he would now consult with officials in his department and consider how the Bill might be amended.

Pro-hunting campaigners also want hunt kennels to be excluded from the Bill as hunt clubs do not breed pups on a commercial basis but only to renew the number of hounds in their pack.