Around 250 greyhounds are put down in Kerry every year when their running careers are over, it has emerged.
Over 1,000 dogs are put down in Kerry annually and around a quarter are greyhounds, bred for the county's thriving greyhound racing and coursing industries.
A spokesman for Kerry County Council said yesterday that greyhound owners bring their dogs to the pound when their running careers end or when they prove to have no potential.
The greyhounds are put to sleep in a humane fashion.
However, the high numbers of greyhounds being killed in Kerry has been criticised by an organisation founded two years ago.
The founder of Kerry greyhound Home Finders, Ms Amanda Saunders Perkins, said the numbers were conservative and represented only about half of all the greyhounds put down in Kerry.