Greyhound Left To Starve To Death In Scotland

Everyone, meet Bleu...



Bleu is a gorgeous ex-racing Greyhound and was found in Fife, Scotland a few days ago. The full BBC news report can be found here.

Ironically, he was found emaciated and just a few days from a horrific and painful death in the constituancy of Gordon Brown, the British Prime Minister (whom you can email about this matter at gordon.brown@hm-treasury.x.gsi.gov.uk - although keep it polite). Before you do though, let me tell you a little about Bleu...

Bleu should have weighed 30kg, which is the correct weight for an adult male Greyhound. Instead he weighed just 18kg because he had been starved for at least 2 months before he was found, according to veterinary staff. He is just 2 years old so imagine the kind of life he has had so far.

Bleu was abandoned, but not by simply being left somwhere, which would have been bad enough. No, he wasthrown over an 8 foot high fence into an abandoned factory. He could not escape because it was effectively wasteland. Had someone walking nearby not spotted him he would certainly be dead now.

Langdyke Boarding Kennel owner Sylvia Pass said: "When the dog was brought here it had a 50/50 chance of survival. It was malnourished and dehydrated and we found it covered in fleas. It has no muscle, no flesh. If it lay on its side and shut its eyes you would think it had been dead for a couple of weeks, it's that bad."

Bleu is recovering from a damaged shoulder as well as his emaciation and currently has a 75% chance of survival. Thanks to excellent medical care and being fed 6 to 8 times a day with small meals of food high in protein and fat soaked in water, Bleu's chances of survival are much higher than they were just a few days ago.

Speak out about ths and pass the link on to all your friends. Everyone needs to know about this dispicable act because it must stop now!

Please Sign The Stop Greyhound Cruelty Petition

Just a quick note today to pass on a message to everyone that cares about greyhounds for a member of the Facebook cause, Andy Falconer. Andy left a link at the cause page today for a petition to promote the abolition of greyhound cruelty, which desperately needs signatures.

You can find the petition here: STOP GREYHOUND CRUELTY.

Please sign, even if you do so anonymously, and pass on the link to your friends.

Stop The Skinning Alive Of Animals In China!!!

I originally posted this on Lou's Gorgeous Greyhounds but this message NEEDS to be sent so please spread the word as far as possible. Something MUST be done.

With the Olympics on the horizon in the very near future, China has come under scrutiny from various different angles. If it isn't the smog and air pollution then it's the human rights issues. However, I want to draw attention to something else. i want to draw attention to the barbaric treatment of animals.

Now any greyhound lover that has looked into the slaughter of greyhounds in Asia will probably know that greyhounds are skinned and eaten there. This may be horrifying but it is completely true. However, at least the greyhounds are dead before they do that. This may not sound like a plus point at all, but it is when you consider this next fact.

Did you know that 2 million, yes 2,000,000 cats and dogs are skinned alive for their fur every year. They then die in the most horrific way because they are not put out of their misery. They are instead left to die.

There is a petition that you can sign on the Care2 site. This is the direct link. Please please sign it as they are looking for 2 million signatures, one for every cat and dog treated in this barbaric way.

We must put a stop to it now!!! After all, could you imagine the two gorgeous creatures below with no fur? No? Neither could I. This brutality has to be stopped now so please support it... for the sake of all of our furry friends.

The RSPCA Get Two On Greyhound Cruelty Charges

The RSPCA in the UK is often accused of not doing enough to protect greyhounds but, trust me, they do as much as they possibly can. They take greyhounds in and pass them on to shelters that can nurse them back to health. They also do their utmost to find and prosecute the perpetrators of greyhound abuse as well. However. Their powers are somewhat limited. Take this case in point.

Rebecca Hagger (aged 20) and Rosemary Hagger (aged 51) were prosecuted recently for greyhound abuse at Peterborough Magistrates Court. They had already entered a guilty plea to the charge of causing unnecessary suffering to three greyhounds as well as failing to meet the welfare needs of a further four greyhounds. They were only given a 10 year ban on owning dogs for their horrific greyhound abuse.

In fact, the greyhound abuse was that bad that Rebecca was banned from owning all animals for 10 years and ordered to do 200 hours of community service. Rosemary was given a 12-month conditional discharge. Their greyhund abuse was absolutely sickening, so much so that I am not printing all of the details here but neither was sentenced to jail. Instead they got away with the above and a £250 fine to covercourt costs.

Their abuse goes back to September 2007 which is when the RSPCA were called in. Inspectors found three greyhounds that were emaciated and had numerous infected sores during their visit. This actually goes against section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act, 2006, and yet neither was sent to jail. The remaining four were severely underweight, had flea infestations and were living in disusting conditions. They had no food or water and that broke section 9 of the Animal Welfare Act, 2006. Again, neither of them went to jail.

The vet that was called in to treat the emaciated greyhounds actually said that two of the three dog had been severely neglected for at las two months with the other dog having bee left for at least one month. The defence? The dogs were owned by Rosmary's husband, whoc had died. That is absolutely no excuse for this horrific treatment, especially given the fact that Rebecca was still working in the greyhound racing industry at the time of her trial.

One of the RSPCA inspectors that attended to the dogs said the following:

Animals deserve much better than the conditions these dogs were kept in and should have access to veterinary treatment when they need it. The RSPCA believes that the government must introduce effective national standards to ensure the welfare of racing and ex-racing greyhounds. We also feel that those in the industry must be compelled to ensure provision is made for retired dogs.

As you can see, the RSPCA wanted a harsher penalty for the two abusers but could not do much about the penalty they got. It is time we started calling for harsher penalties for those that perpetrate greyhound abuse I think.

On a brighter note, all of the greyhounds are now well cared for, although three still needed a home last time I heard how they were. Boris, Tyler and Wilson are all black and white and are extremely loving. Despite all that has happened to them, they are still very friendly... and lazy! If you think youcould give them a home then please call the RSPCA Peterborough & District Branch on 01733 248116.