Almost 6,000 greyhounds killed in Ireland per year, RTÉ documentary reveals

"They are never registered, simply disappear.”

Almost 6,000 greyhounds are killed in Ireland per year, a new RTÉ investigation has revealed. The documentary, RTÉ Investigates : Greyhounds, Running for Their Lives, claims that out of the 16,000 greyhounds that are born each year, 5,987 on average are killed for not being fast enough. According to the film, in 2017 a consultancy firm was paid €115,000 to carry out a review of the greyhound industry on behalf of the Irish Greyhound Board (IGB). The report, which proposes reforms within the industry, was supplied to the Minister for Agriculture last month. The documentary says that these reforms have not been carried out. “We believe there’s a large gap in which thousands of puppies that are born, they are never registered, simply disappear," said the ISPCA's Dr Andrew Kelly. Chief executive of the IGB Gerard Dollard told RTÉ that there is a problem with greyhounds that are unaccounted for, but that he does not believe the above figures are accurate. “I accept there is an issue in relation to unaccounted-for dogs," he said. "I think the figures that are being thrown out are, in fact, well in excess of what the actual figure is because of a number of exports to the UK and elsewhere.” The documentary, which airs tonight, says that the industry is breeding 1000 percent more dogs than required. It also claims that some greyhounds in Ireland are being given illegal drugs in order to enhance their performance. "We see dogs who come in and they’ve had so much EPO pumped into them that their blood is like treacle," said veterinary surgeon, Finbarr Heslin. RTÉ Investigates : Greyhounds, Running for Their Lives airs tonight on RTE One at 9.35pm.