oh it seems plenty are more than willing!

Chinese set to take away Irish dogs

But welfare groups are furious at plans to export greyhounds claiming that animals too slow to win races are routinely slaughtered and even eaten
John Mooney

Published: 27 February 2011

· Campaigners fear that racing animals will suffer in China



And they’re off ... Bord na gCon, the Irish greyhound board, wants to export dogs to China as part of an international expansion that could result in it operating racing stadiums there.

The move is opposed by Irish animal welfare groups, which say other countries refuse to sell greyhounds to China. Dogs too slow to win races are routinely slaughtered and even eaten, they claim.

Attempts have been made to improve the image of greyhound racing but the welfare of retired dogs continues to be a concern. It has been raised by Joanna Lumley, the actress, and Richard Wilson, of One Foot in the Grave. Sharon Ní Bheoláin, the RTE newsreader, and other public figures have also campaigned about the welfare of the racing dogs.

Bord na gCon says Chinese officials visited Dublin this month to see how the Irish greyhound-racing industry is run and regulated. A spokesman said the board informed the Department of Agriculture, which regulates the transport of greyhounds, about its expansion plans.

“As with any country we do not have any influence on the welfare standards adopted in other countries, and these matters are more appropriately dealt with by the country’s own legislative system,” the spokesman said.

The export of greyhounds was a matter for individuals and Bord na gCon, said the department. “The board has informed us that they are exploring the possibility of assisting with the establishment of greyhound racing in China,” it said.

Ireland exports greyhounds to America, mainland Europe, Australia and Pakistan, but animal-welfare societies want trading with China to be prohibited. Orla Aungier, of the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said China had a reputation for the ill-treatment of wild and domestic animals.

“A number of countries which export greyhounds to China are already under pressure to stop because dogs that do not race well are routinely killed,” she said. “If Irish greyhounds are sent to China it would be almost impossible to monitor their welfare. We are urging Bord na gCon to reconsider their plans and to think about how devastating this move will be for the welfare of Irish greyhounds.”

China is the main source of the 2m cats and dogs killed annually for their fur, according to the Humane Society of the United States.

The reputation of the Irish greyhound racing industry was tarnished in the 1990s when images of starving and ill-treated dogs exported to Spain and Italy appeared in the media. The Irish authorities stopped supporting the Spanish trade.

Ní Bheoláin has urged greyhound breeders to think twice about sending dogs to China. “I’d be extremely fearful of condemning any Irish animal to an existence where their basic welfare requirements are routinely ignored. Economic factors aside, we cannot as a civilised nation be seen to trade in cruelty,” she said.

Ireland, as one of the world’s biggest exporters of greyhounds, must “ safeguard our reputation and start to set standards,” she added.

Greyhound racing is worth €500m a year to the Irish economy, according to Bord na gCon. Greyhound exports are valued at €40m a year.

Animal-welfare groups have long criticised the practice of destroying healthy dogs when too old to race. When a greyhound reaches three to five years, it is considered too slow.

Ohh I know there must - sad I think.

i would never export to china. and in fact id be wary of exporting to anywhere. its harder to keep track of the dogs when they are abroad, and i imagine harder if they didnt want the dog, to stick the rule that it must be sent to the breeder.

if it was someone i knew personally, then i may consider it, but i would never export to someone i had no real clue who they are.

Spot.
Have you psoted this thread specifically because of the exported Greyhounds?