Swansea dog track in South Wales closed on November 7th, less than
two weeks after the owner, Eric Short, was fined £250 for keeping
greyhounds in poor conditions.
Council inspectors found dogs kept on soiled bedding and kennels
smelling of urine at the greyhound stadium.
There were wheelbarrows full of excrement outside the kennels and
food waste lying around.
One greyhound had an open cut on the tail, which a vet thought was
over a week old, and there was blood smeared across the kennel wall,
magistrates in the city heard.
Other dogs were roaming loose
and there was an open bin bag
and a block of frozen meat
dumped on the floor.
Kelly Byrne, prosecuting on
behalf of Swansea Council, told
the court that environmental
health officers visited the stadium on March 5th and found the
greyhound kennels were of a "very poor standard” and badly lit,
with “some in complete darkness".
Above and left – Greyhound Action’s first ever demo was held outside
Swansea Greyhound Stadium in July 1999
The stadium closed after the owners failed to obtain a new long lease
with the Council.
John Rabbaiotti, race manager at the stadium, said: “The track needs
£30,000 of investment and we can’t risk spending that kind of money with
the risk of losing it in a year.”
The track's closure leaves just one greyhound stadium in Wales, where
at one time there were at least half a dozen.
Although Swansea was
one of Britain's smaller,
independent tracks, we
estimate that its existence
was nevertheless responsible for the putting to death
of dozens of greyhounds every year, so its closure is
a cause for celebration and yet another victory in the
struggle for greyhound protection.
The slaughter of greyhounds in South Wales was
brought to public attention five years ago when local
"greyhound executioner" Andrew Gough was
sentenced to six months imprisonment for the
mutilation of an ex-racing dog called Rusty.