Greyhound case features on TV

A former Oxford greyhound trainer is to feature in a TV documentary which promises to lift the lid on one of Britain's top spectator sports. Steve Davis, of Ducklington, near Witney, who was recently fined £1,000 for killing dogs in his care, is one of two disgraced trainers confronted in the BBC undercover investigation next month. The greyhound authorities are said to believe the inquiries of journalist Paul Kenyon could have a "devastating" effect on the sport's reputation.

Trainer fined for killings.

A former Oxford greyhound trainer has been fined £1,000 and severely reprimanded by the National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) stewards for killing dogs in his care.

The stewards considered a report of the NGRC security co-ordinator into the putting down of greyhounds in Steve Davis's care. It is against regulations for someone not qualified as a veterinary surgeon to put dogs down. Investigations also revealed that false statements had been made in connection with documents related to greyhound racing, and the maintenance of his kennel book in accordance with the rules of racing.

Mr Davis of Ducklington, near Witney, resigned as a trainer at Oxford Stadium last month when the NGRC inquiry was announced. He was present at the inquiry along with his solicitor, Julian Lee. Kennelhands Dudley Grant and Marc Studer, and greyhound owner David Shayler attended as witnesses. Assistant trainer Mark Williams and kennelhand Ashley Hart did not attend, but provided written statements.

Through his solicitor, Mr Davis said he had "euthanased" two greyhounds by injection with a quantity of drug that he had obtained from a veterinary surgeon. He said he considered himself totally competent to carry out this pro- cedure. He said other greyhounds in his care had been "euthanased" by a veterinary surgeon and the owners had been charged a fee. He admitted that his kennel book was inaccurate, and said he relied on his head kennelhand to maintain the records.

The stewards found Mr Davis in breach of seven rules and ordered that he be severely reprimanded and fined £1,000. NGRC Rule 58 states: "A greyhound, in the charge of a licensed trainer, shall not be destroyed except with the approval of and under the direct supervision of a veterinary surgeon unless in the veterinary surgeon's absence, immediate destruction is obviously essential, in which case the circumstances shall afterwards be reported by the trainer to the NGRC."

Trainer fed dogs cattle waste.

A greyhound trainer, who cut up cattle carcasses to feed to his dogs, has been fined for breaking new laws aimed at stopping the spread of disease. And a senior magistrate at Witney yesterday said she was "horrified" by the standards that seem rife in the industry.

Wendy Barlow said: "The full attention of the greyhound authorities should be drawn to this case so that proper steps can be taken.

"We are horrified and amazed at what standards seem to be acceptable." Stephen Davis, 44, of North Lodge, Cokethorpe Estate, Ducklington, pleaded guilty to five offences under the 1999 Animal By-Products Order, brought in by the Government to control the spread of disease, particularly BSE. He was fined £500 and ordered to pay £500 towards the costs of Oxfordshire County Council's Trading Standards Department which brought the case. Davis, who trains 70 dogs, was said to be one of the top trainers in the industry. For Davis, Peter Cusick said his client was unaware of the new regulations.

In April this year, Trading Standards officers visited Davis's training premises and found a decomposed carcass, bones and remains, including a spinal cord left for dogs to chew on. Cutting and boiling equipment was also found.

Trading Standards officer Graham Jones said: "There was a potential risk for the spread of disease, particularly from wildlife like birds and foxes, who could have gained access to the material.

"Mr Davis has been negligent or had no regard for the risk posed by what he was doing."

Officers found more than a tonne of contaminated animal by-product and the remains of a horse and a sheep.

Mr Cusick said Davis's premises were licensed by the National Greyhound Racing Club and checked regularly by vets.

"For centuries farmer have been taking their still-born calves, lambs and other animals to hunting kennels, it has been part and parcel of country life.

"Mr Davis was unaware of the change in the law in 1999 and carried on as he has done for years in this way. The dogs need about 250lb of meat a day," he added.

David Mills, who runs a greyhound feed business, told the court: I would say about 50 per cent of trainers are still doing what he has done."

Portsmouth no reply to any letters sent to them with welfare concerns.

The O'Malleys Shez incident was unfortunate these things happen in life, good management learn from them. Portsmouth did nothing until it appeared in the local paper.

Portsmouth at the NGRC inquiry agreed to man the 438m trip but never did.

I feel it is inevitable that a greyhound will get knocked over on the first bend of a 438m race and turn back, at this point it is impossible to trip the hare and the likely outcome is injury or worse.

The injury sustained by the starter highlights the consequences.

With modern technology you could have a hard wired system of solonoid valves that operate say 6 trip switches, this would cost a few quid but would allow the hare to be tripped very easily.

It is about caring enough and I think it is a GRA issue look at Catford - Football Focus, Oxford - Paul Walden, Belle Vue - Injury Rates.

I am happy not to discuss specifics, the point I think it amplifies is that an unpredictable dog or dogs could quite simply in the worst case be killed by the hare system and all because the promoter will not put in place a proper system to trip the hare.

Just my view of what I have seen and heard.

I am sure you remember the dog that killed itself a couple of years ago when it dived in head first and hit the box they used to cover the hare with at Wimbledon.

Dear UGO

Thank you for your help since I approached you for guidance about submitting a complaint regarding the race on 19 April in which Omalleys Shez broke his leg. I was so angry that I could not focus on how to proceed. Explaining the events of the race to you so that you could understand, helped me provide a clear statement to the NGRC in advance of the hearing.

The NGRC stewards decided not to allow Tim to attend the hearing. Tim did however accompany me to the hearing as moral support. Noel Thompson explained what would happen in the meeting and made us feel very welcome. I was surprised to learn before the hearing that after all of the statements had been read out we could all ask questions.

My main concern about the race was that although an injured dog was on the track and still moving around, the race was not stopped. In the time before the hearing I learned more about the hare at Portsmouth myself. It was explained by the track representative that the inside hare at Portsmouth is carried on a metal arm which sticks out and holds the hare on the end. If the hare is stopped with the arm out, the dogs following the hare on the inside of the track will run into it. The track representative said that he had seen two dogs somersault over this type of hare when it was stopped in a trial a couple of years ago. He described the hare to the stewards as "agricultural".

The only way to stop the hare safely is to "trip it". There are two points at the track where a "trip" can be set on the rail, so that when the hare passes the arm goes up and the hare flies on to the track. The dogs are then not at risk of running into the arm. On the evening of the race in question there was someone at one of the trips, where the races end, and no one capable of setting the trip next to the other one.

Omalleys Shez broke his leg on the second bend, and the other dogs ran the 3rd, 4th and 5th bends before the call for trip the hare came. They claim they had incorrectly thought that the trained person was at the trip on the 6th bend. I said that I thought that the hare had passed the "trip" before the call was made, and it was therefore too late anyway. The statements taken from track personnel all emphasise how dangerous it is to stop the inside hare.

The track's statements said that there was someone on every bend during that race as usual. Initially no one made any attempt to catch the dog. A spectating trainer was the only person who could jump on to the track to try to catch him.. When asked if they had made any changes since the race they said that they now had someone covering every bend! They also said that someone also now covered the other trip (the last one before the line) all the time. As an afterthought they said that this was only in 610m races.

The senior steward said that something good had come of this inquiry then.

There were discussions about the age of the hare, and how it is the last one in the country. They said that it had some uses as it it a noisy hare with a hare shaped object on the end, and dogs who won't chase the modern quiet hares will chase this one.

I was thanked by the senior steward for bringing this matter to the NGRC's attention. I thought that the track's explanations were weak and inconsistent, however after their deliberations the stewards chose to "accept the tracks explanations." If you have any questions please let me know.

Kathryn Knight

"Having attended the NGRC hearing last Thursday into the unnecessary death of Football Focus we feel it is appropriate to communicate our views on the sad experience we have had in the loss of our much-loved greyhound Billy (Football Focus).

We will never forget the insensitive comments made by Catford Stadium in letters to us where they `wished us better fortune with our greyhounds in the future' and noted that Billy was `humanely destroyed', ignoring the considerable suffering he must have endured prior to death.

We are disgusted that despite being members of the Catford Greyhound Owners' Association we have at no time had any contact from them. It was disappointing to hear Mr Wolfe, the Catford general manager, state that the kennels were only 6/7 years old; when in reality the only change in the last 30 years has been to insert a false floor to accommodate two dogs per kennel instead of one.

While we thank Monica Watts, the veterinary surgeon in attendance for her valiant efforts to save Billy, we are disappointed that, despite the presence of the general manager in the paddock, the proper procedures were not followed, in as much that neither blood nor urine samples were taken immediately after Billy's death.

Earlier in the year, the greyhound Mammcross Pride (Trainer Jason Foster) was withdrawn prior to racing at Catford, having been found to be in a heat stressed condition. Critically, there was no mention of this in the reports of the inquiry, but it illustrates the point that the management was aware of the possibility that a dog might suffer from heat stroke in those kennels.

They failed to look at ways of minimising this risk in hot, humid conditions, meaning Billy had to die before any improvements will be made. It is intriguing to see the GRA had plans earlier in the year to replace the kennels, yet in March they categorically refused to do so after the Owners' Association requested that course of action as there was concern from owners that, amongst other things, the kennels were unsafe in hot weather.

We dismiss the stewards' reliance on Billy's extra lap as a meaningful contributing factor, Steve Gammon has our total faith, we consider Billy was more than fit enough for this exertion. In conclusion, we entrusted Billy into the racing kennels of the largest greyhound promoter in the country, the GRA. Their failure to provide satisfactory kennels meant he paid the highest possible price; he paid with his life.

The NGRC, as the upholder of integrity in our sport had approved these kennels. Their failure to ensure licensed kennels meet satisfactory standards at every licensed track has resulted in the death of our wonderful greyhound."

Woman injured in dog track accident

She is understood to have broken her leg after being struck by the mechanism which propels a hare around the track for dogs to chase.

It is understood the woman was trying to shut down the mechanism called 'tripping the hare' after noticing a dog was injured on the track.

The hare needed to be shut down to stop the animal running after it and worsening its injury.

General manager at the Tipner stadium Jim Snowdon explained: 'She was actually on the track but it was during trials before the racing began.

'I didn't see the incident but as far as I'm aware there was a dog that had stopped running.

'With safety in mind for the greyhound she attempted to trip the hare and stop it continuing in case it caused further injury.

'Unfortunately it caught her before she could stop it.'

The Health and Safety Executive will look into the accident.

One regular visitor to the stadium, who asked not to be named, said: 'What people saw was horrific and there should be a way to stop races instantly if something like this happens.'

Sergeant Derek Hibbard, of Hampshire police, said: 'She was taken to hospital with a suspected broken ankle. Because it is an industrial injury Health and Safety will be investigating.'

The woman, who has not been identified, was taken to Queen Alexandra Hospital where she remained overnight. Her condition was described as comfortable.

Fully Agree....

Nice piece in todays Racing Post in regard to the inquiry into the tragic death of Football Focus. BGRB chief Geoffrey Thomas is approaching the fund for 1.5 million pounds budget to bring about massive improvements to track kennels.A shame it needs a dogs death to get things moving.

There is a discussion due to take place on Monday 2nd December at the House Of Commons, the sports minister will be present, and greyhound welfare and developement will be on the agenda. Some things never change.... Returning to the Football Focus issue, the stewards dismissed a complaint from UGO which asked them to hold an inquiry into their own failure to ensure that kennel facilities at greyhound tracks licensed by them meet satisfactory standards in terms of welfare.

Some things never change....

The NGRC and BGRB are really going to have to get their acts together, and drag themselves into the 21st century and start using foresight as opposed to hindsight, so that our industry can go forward.

Regards

Steve

(note from Greyhound Action - Football Focus died at Catford, a GRA stadium (see article below). BGRB = British Greyhound Racing Board. UGO = Union of Greyhound Owners. NGRC = National Greyhound Racing Club (all the big tracks, including the GRA tracks supposedly operate under their rules - as would the Liverpool track))

Mike Nightingale of UGO on the Catford kennels issue

I must admit to being not the least bit surprised to read that the connections of Football Focus have been informed by solicitors acting on behalf of GRA that they claim the kennels were safe to house greyhounds on the fateful night.

In whose opinion? I have yet to hear that the NGRC or the BGRB back them up on this, in fact, I seem to recall both groups stated as a direct result of this incident that the kennels are not up to standard. To follow this up, 10 of the countries leading trainers wrote an open letter warning promoters to get kennels and track surfaces up to scratch or they would not run at the sub-standard tracks.

The GRA solicitors are claiming that, as the kennels were licensed by the NGRC as fit for the purpose, then Catford cannot be to blame for the death. In my opinion the closing of the offending kennel block and subsequent works to enforce ventilation is an admission of guilt in itself and UGO encourages the connections to consider an action in the courts to obtain the compensation they are clearly entitled to.

To my mind, the fact that a dog died proves that the NGRC are equally at fault for failing to pick up possible problems during their annual inspections. Whilst it is unsurprising that GRA do not wish to accept responsibility, someone must take the blame. The kennels belong to GRA and as such should be up to standard.

If the NGRC had been acting in a professional manner in enforcing and upgrading kennel standards for tracks throughout the country, then maybe we would all see our greyhounds kennelled in the comfort they deserve whilst waiting to race.

I suppose we can take some comfort from the tragic circumstance bringing this issue to the fore, but that is little compensation to dog lovers around the country.

It will be interesting to see who, if anyone, steps forward on the November 14 to accept responsibility. General opinion seems to be that the trainer is going to be the one who the establishment will blame. If he is considered responsible in any way then all those trainers racing greyhounds at Catford are equally guilty of not looking after their charges' welfare - perhaps even we as owners are responsible for allowing them to race too - ludicrous to even think it, isn't it?

UGO would like to offer support to Steve Gammon in any way it can and challenges the aforementioned trainers to take a stance on this issue before the November 14 hearing. It is not so very far away now, so it would be interesting to hear from Catford management what progress has been made on improvement to the kennels, if any?

Mike Nightingale UGO Committee Member

Two greyhounds were killed in the tenth race at Belle Vue on Thursday night, writes John Forbes. Smart Signal, trained by Jimmy Gibson, and Mariner Skid, trained by Andy Heyes, both fell in the race and suffered broken necks. The track's general manager John Gilburn said yesterday: "Although the falls happened at almost the same spot, they were actually separate incidents. Freedom Prince, who was in trap four, moved in on leaving the boxes but moved out again as they went to the first turn where Mariner Skid, who was in five, was moving in.The pair collided and Mariner Skid did a double somersault in a horrible fall, landing on his back, and I think his head hit the outside wall. I've studied the slow motion replay many times and could see nothing to link what happened to Smart Signal with that incident. He seemed to develop a problem, race on for six or seven paces, and then fall over. I have spoken to the vet, Diane Hodson, who could not find any reason for it, although she did say this was an old dog and could even have suffered a heart attack prior to the fall." Pat Rosney, head man to Jimmy Gibson, said that the whole kennel was very upset by the accident. "I wasn't there myself," he said, "and Julie McCombe, who took him down to the track said that she didn't actually see the fall. However he was a bit of a special favourite of hers and she is absolutely devastated. We have had a number of racing injuies in recent weeks. I don't understand it, but it is frightening. The welfare of the dogs must always come first and this needs looking into."

Catford Tradgedy

The Catford Greyhound Stadium closed one of its kennel blocks after a greyhound died, apparently of extreme heat exhaustion, following an 8:00 p.m. race on Saturday, Aug. 17 (2002). Weather conditions were extremely hot and humid that night. Following the race, Football Focus was hosed down, watered, and returned to the kennel block. Steve Gammon, the dog's trainer, checked on him an hour later and found the dog in an extremely distressed condition.

"As soon as the kennel was opened I knew he was in a critical state," Gammon said. "There were tremendous efforts made to save him by kennel staff and the veterinary surgeon, but unfortunately he was beyond help and the decision had to be taken to end his suffering."

An unidentified trainer called the Racing Post two days later and said he was very concerned about the particular kennel block the dog was housed in, citing several recent examples of greyhounds emerging from it in seriously distressed states. The Post also received a faxed message from a kennel owner who races his dogs at the Catford track, stating, "This was an accident waiting to happen due to the antiquated kennel block. Fund grants would be better spent on dog welfare, such as safer running surfaces and air-conditioned kennels. This tragedy could have happened to any dog." Irene McNally, a National Greyhound Racing Club steward who was at the track the night Focus died, said, " It is imperative that paddock and kennel staff are extra-vigilant in these extreme weather conditions to avoid a similar tragedy."

Source: The Racing Post:Phil Donaldson

"6,000 GREYHOUNDS A YEAR SHOT, BURNED AND BURIED. Slaughtered.. when they are too slow to win"

SIX thousand greyhounds are slaughtered every year simply because they no longer win races. The dogs are often disposed of by their owners to avoid paying the £3,000 a year it costs to keep them in retirement.

Among the culprits is trainer Steve Davis, who is being investigated for shooting dogs in the head or heart and burning them on land close to his Oxfordshire kennels.

BBC investigator Paul Kenyon dug up remains found amid burning ashes at the site and had them analysed by a pathologist who confirmed the body parts belonged to a dog - one of dozens which witnesses say they have seen shot by Davis.

Around 8,000 new greyhounds enter the sport each year, but animal charities say only about 2,000 a year are looked after once they retire.

The dogs reach their peak at three to four years old. At five they are ready for retirement, but most are likely to live on until they are about 15.

Earlier this month Davis was fined £1,000 by the sport's regulators, the National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC), for putting down two dogs - but he was allowed to keep his trainer's licence.

Kenyon, presenter of BBC1's Kenyon Confronts, said: "We were told where the ditch was and went in the middle of the night and dug up this smouldering grave.

"It is always burning red-hot because he uses lime and combustible rubbish to keep it going. The pathologist identified one body as a young dog between three and five years old.

"The tens of thousands of people who go greyhound racing every week are totally unaware that the champion they see one week may wind up being shot dead in a field the next."

Kenyon passed himself off as a trainer to gain access to the world of greyhound racing - Britain's second most popular spectator sport after soccer. His investigation uncovered many more disturbing secrets, including widespread race-fixing.

After Kenyon bought a dog from trainer Lennie Knell at Catford stadium in London, Knell's kennel hand immediately offered to fix the dog's first race, giving Kenyon the chance to make thousands of pounds from gambling. Then Knell is caught on camera confirming that he had overfed Kenyon's dog to make it run much slower in a race trial than it usually would.

The aim was to get the greyhound placed in a later race with dogs much slower than its normal speed - making it almost certain to win.

The TV programme also exposes a drug-dealer who hovers at Northern greyhound tracks with a "virtual pharmacy" in his van, including cocaine and huge quantities of the lethal drug Euthatal, used to put down dogs.

Kenyon said: "The dealer invited us to his farm and opened three enormous cabinets which were jam-packed with drugs. We asked him which was the strongest and he produced a large box of cocaine, explaining that he stuffed it down dogs' throats before a race to give them a quick performance boost."

Last night a senior NGRC source said in response to Kenyon's revelations: "Everyone knows what Steve Davis has been up to. It is disgusting. But until we actually catch him in the act or people in the sport come forward and give evidence against him, we can't ban him.

"He was fined over a couple of technicalities relating to two dead dogs, but we had hoped to get him for the shootings.

"Inevitably there are some bad apples in the sport and we are trying to root them out. We do about 8,000 drug tests a year and do everything we can to keep drugs out of the sport."