The bloody racing business with greyhounds
On June 26th A documentary about the bloody greyhound racing business was shown on Irish television. The post showed extremely brutal scenes, corresponding to the cruel everyday life that these wonderful dogs are exposed to. As a result of the documentary, there was a lot of media attention in Ireland, articles were published in newspapers and petitions were started.
Even if this article is not for the faint of heart, we find it all the more important that both the article and all background information are made available to the public.
Irish journalist Conor Ryan from RTE Investigates also published an article about the cruel business, which you can find here.
As a result of the contributions, a petition was created that calls on the main sponsor Barry's Tea to end its financial support of greyhound racing for the benefit of the dogs - we would like to ask you to support us and all greyhound friends in Ireland in this endeavor: You can find the petition here.
Why all that?
With our dog Weenona, who was literally rescued from the killing station at the last minute, we experienced first-hand how heartlessly weak or genetically “unprivileged” racing dogs are treated - the dog no longer brings any money, that's what he goes to the butcher.
It goes without saying that we could not accept this situation and as a result we have focused particularly on the protection of greyhounds with the Irish Farm of Hope.
We have consciously decided to give exactly this to animals who actually have no chance. No matter how tiny this chance is, it is big enough for us to try. We are aware that this work is probably one of the hardest things you can do in animal welfare. Because it often means that the time with our animals is very limited right from the start.
Our beloved Weenona showed us every day that, despite all the forecasts, things can turn out differently. Her trainer, her breeder, her two stops thereafter and finally her vet only saw the option of euthanizing her at 6 months old. Not fast enough, not motivated enough, lethargic, barks all the time, pees all the time, annoying, tiring, unprofitable, unnecessary... without diagnosis, without examination, just euthanizing as the "best solution". Many fortunate circumstances came together that Weenona got her chance and was able to come to us. From then on a unique journey began that we will be grateful for every day. The diagnosis of liver shunt caught us very unprepared, something like this had never been diagnosed in a greyhound before, who would spend money on it in this tough business, let alone be interested?
The shunt was so unfavorably located that it couldn't be operated on and so we were prepared for the fact that her life expectancy would be very limited. We should assume a maximum of 2-2.5 years. But Weenona threw all of these predictions overboard. There were always situations where things got tricky, but she always fought her way back. Her 4th birthday would have been on June 10th. We would have done anything to celebrate this day with her too. But unfortunately it wasn't to be. We are all in shock and can't believe that our beloved Weenona doesn't come in the door with a big laugh like she usually does.
Even if we really had enough time to prepare for said day X, it is incomprehensible. Our world stands still. Our little sanctuary of hope will never be the same again... we thank you Weenona for 3.5 indescribable years and the great opportunity to get to know you.
Her healthy siblings and her healthy mother fell victim to the racing industry and were killed 1.5 years ago, we never had the opportunity to save them. Now a whole family is in heaven and we hope they are doing well together there and can make up for the time together that was taken away from them on earth. Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive of Weenona's journey. She will never be forgotten in many minds.
We would of course be very happy if the Weenona sponsors would continue to support us and continue their support as a sponsorship for one of our animals!
Fast dogs - fast money
About the untimely death of Racing Dogs
The Greyhound may not be as well-known in Europe as the Irish Wolfhound, but it is one of the sighthound breeds that are said to have a number of characteristics: They are said to be difficult to train and have a strong hunting instinct. They are also said to need a lot of exercise and are certainly aggressive because of the muzzle that they only wear when racing. The nature of greyhounds is like Irish wolfhounds, but very gentle and affectionate. Keeping a Greyhound is certainly not recommended in every home given its size, but raising it as a member of the family is easy. They are often misunderstood because they are actually gentle giants. Due to their lovely character, they are very suitable as family dogs. You can go on long walks and even hikes with a Greyhound. However, he wants to exercise for at least one or two hours a day. In the meantime, he relaxes on his favorite spot and behaves calmly and reservedly. The hunting instinct is different in every dog, so you can also find dogs with less hunting instinct among greyhounds and vice versa. The dog walks very well on the leash and behaves unproblematically even towards strangers.
“We make every effort to find a suitable, new home for our dogs. In contrast to rescued Spanish dogs that are simply sent to a new owner as soon as possible, we insist on placing dogs only when they have recovered both physically and mentally on our farm. “When we really know the dog, we’ll know what and who suits him best and look for the appropriate new owner.”
Kristiane
Kristiane attaches great importance to the fact that the animals on her farm are not housed in isolated boxes, but rather live together in a mixed pack of dogs. Such a family group is made up of dogs, cats, horses and donkeys. Their new arrivals experience a life with a lot of love and care from people. They get to know everyday household noises and get used to the car rides to the vet clinic. Our animals are not afraid of a transport basket; there is always one available that can be used as a place to sleep.
Because of the loving care on the farm and the careful selection of the host families, the animals are all rehomed with great success. Also read our story about Tullja!
Protest against coursing
On February 3rd A very important protest took place against coursing with live rabbits. Unfortunately it is still quite widespread in Ireland and poses a great danger to rabbits and dogs. For the rabbits, it is often about their lives despite the dogs' muzzle, as many die of heart attacks due to the immense panic, or are simply killed if injured after the race. For the dogs, this “sport” is associated with falls, rollovers and broken bones. Just as we are against greyhound racing, we also speak out clearly against coursing and very much hope that this protest will be a great success. We thank everyone who is on site today and raising their voices against this animal cruelty.