“Open your hearts and homes to these gentle dogs” says Sharon Shannon
Over 250 walkers with their dogs gathered from all over Ireland and beyond, including representatives of greyhound rescue organisations in the USA, England, Wales, Sweden, and Italy amongst others.
Irish celebrities turned out in their numbers: Best selling Irish musician Sharon Shannon, TV presenter and journalist Amanda Brunker and acclaimed film director Lenny Abrahamson all took part in the walk.
Sharon Shannon said “Greyhounds are such gentle, affectionate dogs. Anyone who saw them walking calmly through the city today, alongside children and dogs of all breeds and sizes will have seen that for themselves. I call upon the people of Ireland to open their hearts and homes to these gentle dogs and to consider adopting a retired racing greyhound as a family pet”.
A spokesperson from Greyhound Rescue Association Ireland said: This was a peaceful walk and a much needed “first” for Ireland. All over the World, people are aware that greyhounds make wonderful family pets. Yet in Ireland too many people still do not think this way.
The support for this walk shows that attitudes, at last, are changing and that more and more people are realising that greyhounds deserve a life when they retire from racing. Greyhounds are very gentle, good with children, generally get on well with other dogs, and they make wonderful family pets.
The walk was prompted by the Irish Greyhound Board plans to support the development of greyhound racing in China. We believe that they should concentrate on addressing the serious greyhound welfare problems that exist here rather than setting up racing in a country with a notoriously poor record on animal welfare.
Last year over 650 greyhounds were destroyed in Irish council pounds alone, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Hundreds of other greyhounds are disposed of by their owners or simply given away thoughtlessly to people who may later abandon them. Large numbers of puppies and young greyhounds bred for racing also just “disappear” before they ever see a race-track because they are too slow or do not have chase instinct.
If it were Labradors or King Charles Spaniels meeting their deaths in their thousands there would be a public outcry and so there should be over greyhounds.
By promoting greyhounds as pets we hope that more homes can be found in Ireland for the greyhound, a noble dog, which for so many people throughout the world is a symbol of our country.”
View photos from the event.
Watch the RTE News Coverage of the event (Go to 19 minutes/5 seconds for feature)
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