Sick And Unthinkable: Brutal Greyhound Murder With A Breadknife

Normally I take the time to provide an introduction to various stories I have emailed to me or read about greyhounds but I am absolutely seething with rage at the moment. I have literally just received an email, the contents of which are written word for word below, that has made me feel sick. Please read it and pass on the message because this HAS TO STOP NOW!!!

GREYHOUND FOUND STABBED TO DEATH WITH BREADKNIFE IN SUNDERALND (UK)- LOW LIFE SCUM GREYHOUND KILLER LEFT OFFENSIVE WEAPON AT SCENE OF CRIME!!! SEE ARTICLE BELOW
There were bones sticking out of its body and it looked extremely thin like it hadn't been looked after!!!!

Greyhound Crusaders/SWAP team UK have been alerted to this recent MURDER from one of our supporters in the area therefore if anyone has any intelligence on this case please email us at greyhoundcrusaders@googlemail.com or southwestanimalprotection@yahoo.co.uk immediately

MANY THANKS
Grehound Crusaders/SWAP team UK

The article can be found at http://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/Jean39s-horror-over-dog-find.5002404.jp or in full below:

ARTICLE
Jean's horror over dog find
Published Date:
20 February 2009
By Marissa Carruthers

An animal lover has spoken of her disgust at her grim discovery after she found a dead dog that had been stabbed in the head.

Jean Frost was disgusted when a pal told her she had stumbled across the brutally disfigured greyhound in land near Dene Street, Silksworth when she was walking her dog.

She phoned police, who took a bread knife that lay next to the dog away to be examined.

And the 46-year-old was horrified when she returned to the site a week later and found the animal's body was still there.

Mrs Frost, of Thorney Close, said: "My friend was walking her dog when she found this greyhound with a knife lying next to it.

"She looked at it closer and it had stab wounds to its head and the rest of its body and there was a knife lying next to its legs.

"Its ears were also filled with blood so it was definitely stabbed.

"She called the police and someone came out to take some pictures and they took the knife with them."

Mrs Frost, who has volunteered with several animal rescue centres across the region, said the dog looked as though it had been badly treated and was malnourished.

She said: "It's disgusting and pathetic that anyone could do something like this. There's absolutely no need to stick a knife into a dog's head.

"Even people who are not working can go to the PDSA and get free help or get them put down humanly.

"Or there's greyhound rescue centres they can be taken to.

"There were bones sticking out of its body and it looked extremely thin like it hadn't been looked after. It's so sad."

A police spokesman said: "On Wednesday, February 11, police received a report of a dead dog in woods near to Dene Street, Silksworth. Police attended the area but were unable to locate the dog.

"On Thursday, February 12, police were assisted in finding the dog by the member of the public who had initially reported it.

"The dog was found away from the main walking tracks in a remote part of the wood. Police also recovered a knife at the scene.

"Council cleansing teams were called to remove the dog's body and the RSPCA were also informed about the discovery."

Anyone wanting to report animal cruelty can seek advice from the RSPCA by phoning 0300 1234 999.

Help Save The Greyhounds Of Australia

When we think of cruelty to greyhounds and greyhound slaughter, we tend to think close to home. We think of the USA, UK and Europe. We may even look to the Middle East, but our focus should also be on Asia. No matter how bad we think the greyhound cruelty that goes one here is, I guarantee that it is ten times worse there.

Our gorgeous greyhounds are brutally tortured in the most horrific ways before being murdered without a thought. There is no regulation in Asia at all. However, the Asian countries cannot take all of the blame. Australia has to take some of it too.

Did you know Australia exports greyhounds to Asia? They do so knowing what happens to the poor creatures that are sent sailing to their death and yet they do nothing about it. However, there is a petition you can sign to voice your concern and outrage to the Australian government. It can be found here. Please click through and sign it. It will take but a moment.

This is the introduction to the petition, and it should give you a good idea of what goes on:

The Australian greyhound racing industry is shamelessly promoting and encouraging greyhound racing in Asia. At present greyhounds are being exported from Australia to Asia to places such as Korea, Vietnam and China for the purpose of racing/breeding with further plans to create networks of tracks throughout Cambodia and the Philippines. These are countries notorious for the barbaric torture and slaughter of dogs for human consumption. There is no hope or opportunity of rehoming greyhounds that are 'surplus' to requirements in Asia. As exposed by the media they are ending their days being butchered in the dog meat industry or thrown into landfills. At present this is the fate of Australian greyhounds in Asia.

Remembering Rusty...

Today is a special day, but for all of the wrong reasons as far as we and one particular beautiful greyhound is concerned. In fact, Friday 2nd May 2008 is four years to the day that Rusty died in the most horrific and brutal way. He was horribly tortured and left to die on a rubbish tip in the Welsh mountains.

A man out walking discovered his battered body on Fochriw Mountain in the Rhymney Valley. He heard whimpering and went to investigate. The sight that met him was horrific and is a sight that should never have happened. A greyhound was lying half-dead amongst the rubbish having shot in the head with a captive bolt pistol. Also, both of his ears had been hacked off so he could not be identified.

However, despite Rusty's heartbreaking injuries, he still wagged his tail at the man. A loving and sunny natured greyhound, Rusty could have been taken to a shelter and then adopted by the loving family he deserved. Instead, Rusty had to be put to sleep as a result of severe brain injury. He had been lying on the rubbish tip for at least 24 hours before he was discovered.

I am crying as I write this because no greyhound deserves this treatment. There are no words to describe what I feel, and yet some still deny that this goes on. Well it does, and Rusty was proof of that.

Believe it or not, it gets worse.



Andrew Gough, who was known as the ‘Greyhound Executioner’, was found guilty of this atrocious crime and was prosecuted by the RSPCA as a result. He was only given 6 months or the crime and was also banned from keeping animals for life. Disgustingly, 6 months was the maximum term that the cime carried.

During the trial, it came to light that Rusty's owner, John Hurley, and trainer, Mark Emmett, had paid Gough £10 to "dispose" of Rusty. Rusty's crime? He had picked up a toe injury and could no longer race and therefore no longer earn money for the two men, who cannot be human by any tretch of the imagination. Neither were held accountable for signing Rusty's death warrant because it was not illegal for an owner to arrange to have their dog put to death, no matter in what way it was to happen. Remember, he was not to be humanely put to sleep, which would have been bad enough because he was healthy. Instead, he was brutally murdered. He was left to die with horrific injuries that he did not deserve.

Rusty was not alone, nor will he be in the future. He is one of thousands of dogs that die in such a way every year.

Please remember Rusty and all of the other greyhounds that suffer similar fates in your prayers. Remember what beautiful animals they are. Raise your voice and make your disgust heard around the world. Together we can put up a fight for these animals, protect them as they cannot do themselves.

It is time the slaughter stopped once and for all.

BREAKING NEWS: The Slaughter Of Healthy Greyhounds

News broke today of a practice that frankly made me feel sick as I read about it and I wanted to share it with all of you, not to make you feel sick but to make you angry, shocked and disgusted all at the same time. I have people messaging me every day stating that my views are misguided, personally attacking me for making up "facts" that are completely off the mark because very few greyhounds are slaughtered every year and those that are happen to be old and ill.

This is not the case and Daniel Foggo, a renowned investigative journalist, has proved it for me.

Foggo broke the story in The Times newspaper today that the Royal Veterinary College in England has a financial agreement with the Greyhound Clinic, located in Essex, England. The latter provides the bodies of healthy greyhounds for the RVC at £30 per body part. The RVC has a number of similar agreements with other vet practices, which ultimately means that hndreds if not thousands of greyhound are slaughtered every year for a profit of £30 each.

The RSPCA, not surprisingly, is horrified and has spoken out against the practce as well as launching an investigation.

Of course the information provided above is just the tip of the icebeg. There is much more in the article itself which can be found at this Times Online link. Please speak out, read the article and leave your comments here or elsewhere to show your outrage. We need voices now because otherwise nothing will ever change.

Annette Crosbie Speaks On The Greyhound Slaughter

British actress Annette Crosbie, best known for her role as Victor Meldrew's long-suffering wife in One Foot In The Grave, has been a campaigner for the rights of greyhounds for a long time now but her work is only just beginning to get recognised.

She first began to speak out when news broke a couple of year ago about a slaughterhouse in the North East of England. The owner was murdering thousands of retired racers every year. It was found that the majority of the hounds were completely healthy and the brute that ran the place was jailed as a result.

Ms Crosbie is a wonderful woman who deserves our applause and respect, as does everyone that works to help greyhounds in any way shape or form. Her latest public appeal for awareness can be found at Sky News by clicking on this link.

If you would like to read more about Ms Crobie's work then you can read a fantastic article about her here.