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“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 and 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.”
For RTE News Coverage of the
event click on:
http://www.rte.ie/player/#v=1101495
(Go to 19 minutes/5 seconds
for feature)
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