Dorset Greyhound Action

CLOSE POOLE DOG TRACK !

CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED FOLLOWING CRUELTY REVELATIONS
Greyhounds put to death. Kept in appalling conditions.

POOLE DOG TRACK DEMO
Tuesday, July 7th, 6pm - 7.30pm

Local Greyhound Action supporters will be staging their first demo outside Poole Stadium on Tuesday,
July 7th, to coincide with a dog race meeting taking place there.

The demo forms part of a recently launched campaign by our newly-formed Dorset branch to end
greyhound racing at the stadium.

Please try to attend, especially if you live in or near the Dorset area.

Address of the stadium is Wimborne Road, Poole, Dorset, BH15 2BP and a map can be found at

http://tinyurl.com/Poole-Stadium

Please contact Dorset Greyhound Action for more information or if you would like to help with future
demos, street stalls, leafletting etc.

For contact details and more info on the campaign, see

http://www.greyhoundaction.org.uk/GADorset.htm

Click here for background info on the revelations about Eve Blanchard

In the light of the appalling revelations, regarding Eve Blanchard, a trainer who races greyhounds
at Poole, we are launching a new branch in Dorset, which will be campaigning to close the dog track
at Poole Stadium.

There are, very sadly, many trainers like Blanchard, and the only way to permanently put them out of
business is to shut the dog tracks down.

Dorset Greyhound Action, which intends to hold regular demos/leafletting outside the track, as well
as info stalls in towns and cities in the surrounding area, can be contacted at

dorset.greyhoundaction@yahoo.co.uk or on 07952 115771.

If you live in or near the Dorset area, please contact them and get involved in this important
campaign.

Local animal protection workers in Nottingham have launched a campaign to close the city's
greyhound track and are currently staging demos there on a two-weekly basis.

The group are appealing for more support, so they can increase the frequency of these, as well as
holding street stalls etc. in support of their campaign.

If you live in or near the East Midlands area and would like to help, please e-mail
livewire1212@hotmail.com or call Martin on 07908 320418.

Photos from recent demos at the track can be seen at http://tinyurl.com/NottmDemosSpring09

According to the pro-racing greyhoundscene internet forum, a young greyhound (21 months old), called
Unleash Castro, collapsed and died after winning a race last Saturday (April 11th) at Nottingham.

Sadly, deaths and serious injuries to dogs running on the tracks are relatively common, and the
existence of a major track like Nottingham is responsible for the putting to death of about 500
greyhounds every year.

We are delighted to announce that Sheffield Animal Friends (SAF) have launched a campaign to close
the greyhound track at the city's Owlerton Stadium.

The group have already held several demos outside the stadium, as well as street stalls in the city
centre, to educate members of the public to boycott greyhound racing.

The next demos outside the stadium will be held this coming
May 9th, 12th & 16th
(A pic of one of the demos at the stadium can be seen at http://tinyurl.com/Owlerton-demo-March09 )

Please try to attend, especially if you live in or near the South Yorks area.

If you are intending to be there, or would like to help with future demos/street stalls,

please contact Sheffield Animal Friends at sheffieldanimalfriends@googlemail.com

or on 07757 278824 or 07806 641912.

Address of Owlerton Stadium is Penistone Road, Sheffield, S6 2DE.

Directions:-
From the North - Leave motorway at J36 (signposted Sheffield North) and at roundabout take 3rd exit
A61. Follow signs for Grenoside and then Hillsborough. You will pass Sheffield Wednesday Football
Club (on right) and the stadium is ½ mile further on the left.

From the South - Leave motorway at J33 (signposted A630 Sheffield). At Park Square roundabout take
exit A61 (N). Stay on A61 following signs towards Hillsborough. McDonalds and B&Q (on left) the
stadium is next right turn.

By Rail - The stadium is 3 miles from Sheffield railway station.

Map at http://tinyurl.com/OwlertonStadium

A pic of one of SAF's street stalls can be seen at http://tinyurl.com/SheffieldStall

A newspaper article about the dangerous nature of the Owlerton track can be found at:-

http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/Owlerton-track--is-39dangerous39.4376123.jp

And Greyhound Action's response at:-

http://www.thestar.co.uk/letters/Call-to-boycott-greyhound-racing.1942939.jp?articlepage=1

Campaign against greyhound racing at Hall Green Stadium

Demos outside the stadium every week

(usually Saturday evening,sometimes Friday) 6.15pm - 7.30pm

Info stalls in Birmingham city centre, Solihull town centre etc.

Contact West Midlands Greyhound Action for more details.

Address of the stadium is York Road, Hall Green, Birmingham, B28 8LQ.
Directions/Map at http://tinyurl.com/2hxjvv

Contact info: West Midlands Greyhound Action -
westmidlands@greyhoundaction.org.uk or 07703 558724.

Photos of a previous demo at Hall Green (on July 19th) can be seen at
http://tinyurl.com/5v6nto

More volunteers are needed in order to launch a campaign against
Birmingham's other greyhound track,
at Perry Barr.

There will be a demo outside Peterborough Stadium on Saturday, May 30th, 6pm - 7.30pm, to
coincide with a greyhound race meeting taking place there.

Please try to attend, especially if you live in or near the Cambridgeshire area.

Dog racing at the stadium is continuing to experience severe financial problems, so there is no time
like the present to incease the pressure for it to be brought to an end.

"Trading difficulties" (i.e. poor attendances) have forced the stadium's management to drastically
cut the amount of trainers permitted to run dogs there, meaning that, as from the June 1st, the
number of dogs racing at Peterborough will be reduced by 30% from 512 to 350.

It is, of course, concerning to hear of such a large number of greyhounds 'surplus to requirements'
and we are demanding that the stadium management and greyhound racing authorities provide suitable
accomodation for all those no longer wanted for racing.

However, over all, the decision is a good one for greyhounds, as it means less demand for these dogs
to be bred for the racing industry, and fewer will suffer and die as a consequence.

Poor attendances led to the stadium making its racing manager redundant and dropping its Tuesday
race night at the beginning of the year, meaning that races now only take place on Wednesdays,
Fridays and Saturdays.

Attendances at the track have also been hit by continuing revelations about the serious injury and
slaughter of dogs racing at the stadium (see http://tinyurl.com/PeterboroughLeaflet).

Address of the stadium is First Drove, Fengate, Peterborough, PE1 5BJ.

Directions: A1M (Jct 17) and A47, turn off the ring road (A1139) at exit 5 (brown information
signposts to Greyhound Stadium from thereon). Rail: Peterborough Station, 2 miles from the track.

Maps showing the location can be found at http://tinyurl.com/4rcsb and http://tinyurl.com/36gr5e

Contact Rose on 07884 163205, if you need more information.

Photos from the previous demo at the stadium, on April 18th, can be seen at
http://tinyurl.com/PeterboroughDemo2009-04-18

Please also bring with you your most effective Weapon of Mass Seduction - your dog. Cute you may be, but whatever admiring glances follow your insouciant steps, and regardless of what your girlfriend thinks, you won't, believe me, cut it anything like as well as Fido with Mr and Mrs General Public. Your dog does not have to be a greyhound although it helps people see, should they be in any doubt, exactly what we are collecting for. Nonetheless, without making any effort whatsoever, dogs of all breeds invariably attract a besotted audience and have a markedly positive effect on takings.

Having said that, dogs should ideally be reasonably confident and have stable temperaments. Most dogs either use it as an opportunity to catch up on some shut-eye, or revel in all the attention they attract. Street collections have helped some of our originally more nervous canine collectors develop confidence, but please be careful not to allow your dog to become overwhelmed, as this can have the opposite effect. Children in particular can be quite rough in their attentions, so don't be afraid to suggest politely but firmly that it isn't such a good idea for them to pull your dog's tail/tweak his ears etc, and always take your dog away as soon as you notice that he's/she's had enough. He/she will appreciate a duvet/bed he can lie down on and a supply of water, particularly in hot weather, and a coat in cold weather. And at the risk of sounding like your mother, please take sure you wrap up warm yourself when the temperature starts to drop. You can quickly start to feel the cold when you are simply standing for long periods.

We look forward to welcoming you to some of the following events. Please note that, if you cannot locate me, my mobile number is 0799 089 0779 and you can always ring me on this and ask me where I am! I never slop off to the pub, I promise.

Saturday, February 16 Sainsbury's supermarket in Redditch, outside main entrance. Parking in the supermarket car park is free. (Please let me know beforehand if you intend to come to this, as this is the one event per year when we may well need to create a rota, as there are effectively only two positions, the entrance and the exit).

Saturday, February 23 Shirley, Solihull. I shall probably be outside Boots. Best place to park is in Shirley Shoppers, a free car park which is behind Iceland. You come out of the exit to Shirley Shoppers onto the High Street and will practically stumble upon me. ***

Saturday, March 22 Leamington Spa. Usually outside Mark & Spencers or Boots on the other side of the road. Plenty of parking in the town. ***

Saturday, April 5th Coventry - waiting for confirmation of the exact date. ***

Saturday, May 3rd Rugby town centre. There is a shopping centre next to the clock tower (called, we think, Clock Towers Shopping Centre) which we will most likely be outside. Otherwise on other side of the market between Boots the opticians and Monsoon.

Saturday, June 21 Knowle, Solihull. You'll find me outside Tesco's. There is short and long term parking close to Tesco's and you can often park on the road slightly further back from the official car parks.

Saturday, July 19 Warwick. I tend to be outside Boots in Swan Street off the market square if not outside the building society on the market square itself. There is a council car park in Cape Road behind the Police Station and Cape Road Medical Centre which is free at weekends.

Saturday, August 2 Mell Square, Solihull. Plenty of carparks around Mell Square which are well signposted. I will probably be hovering outside the front of Boots. ***

Saturday,August 23 Kenilworth town centre, outside Woolworths. There is a large car park accessible from the High Street.

Saturday, September 13 Alcester, Warks. There is a supermarket off School Lane which has free parking. I will be on the High Street, which is not particularly long.

Saturday, October 18 Bromsgrove. I shall be beside the Hausmann statue in the pedestrian precinct. Best places to park are in Asda - (time limit of 2 hours and paying) - or, if you carry on up the same road as the entrance to Asda's carpark and instead of turning left into Asda turn right about 20 yards further up into a non-paying car park where there is no time limit. ***

November, Nuneaton. This is a new one for us. Date to be confirmed. I'll be by the fountain.

Saturday, December 8 Knowle, Solihull. You'll find me outside Tesco's. There is short and long term parking close to Tesco's and you can often park on the road slightly further back from the official car parks.

5pm til midnight. £5 on the door.

This is a great way to do something useful whilst having a top night! The founders of Greyhound
Action will be in attendance and all profit made will go towards helping to end this sick and cruel
industry, see www.greyhoundaction.org.uk

For band info, see
http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=393388553&blogId=462337887

Thanks : )

READ ON TO SEE MORE ABOUT REGULAR EVENTS IN WOLVERHAMPTON

At present, demos at Monmore Green are taking place about every two weeks, but WGA intend to increase this to weekly, once sufficient support is forthcoming.

August Demos/leafletting at Monmore Green

UPDATE: Demo outside Monmore Green Stadium this Thursday, August 28th has been cancelled and there will be a Greyhound Action info stall in Wolverhampton city centre the following day (Friday, August 29th) from 11am - 3pm instead.


Wolverhampton Greyhound Action (WGA) are holding more demonstrations as part of our campaign for the closure of the dog track at the city's Monmore Green Stadium. They will be our usual peaceful demonstrations at the Stadium. Please see below for location and travel information.

Advance notice - Greyhound Action will be holding a stall at the West Midlands Vegan Festival

Wolverhampton Civic Hall on Saturday, November 1st. For more information

see www.veganmidlands.org.uk/festival/home.html

Info stalls in Wolverhampton city centre

Contact Wolverhampton Greyhound Action for more details

Contact Info:

Wolverhampton Greyhound Action at wolvesga@yahoo.co.uk or on 07981 896228.

Travel Information for Monmore Green demos

Location of the Stadium is Sutherland Avenue, Monmore Green, Wolverhampton. WV2 2JJ

Map:

http://tinyurl.com/236mw3

Tram stop is at A on this link:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=priestfield+metro+wolverhampton+&ie=UTF8&ll=52.575255,-2.098904&spn=0.011814,0.029182&z=15

Bus Info:

79, 529 and 574 buses go down either Bilston Road or Willenhall Road, they are pretty frequent and
it is about a 10 minute walk from the bus stop.

You can plan your journey here:

http://www.travelinemidlands.co.uk/JourneyPlanner.jsp?vm_Reset_str=true

More Campaign Info:

Commercial greyhound racing in the UK began on July 24th,1926 at Belle Vue Stadium in Manchester.

Every year, on the nearest Saturday and Sunday to this date, we stage Greyhound Remembrance Weekend, in memory of the hundreds of thousands of dogs that have been abused and killed by the greyhound racing industry since that day.

The Weekend is marked by street stalls and demos/pickets on the Saturday and by remembrance ceremonies on the Sunday, including the laying of wreaths and flowers outside greyhound stadiums, in memory of all the dogs that have suffered and been put to death.

Eastville Park, Bristol ... where a greyhound gathering and information day was held next to the site of the former greyhound track

Great Yarmouth, Norfolk ... where a solemn procession to the gates of the greyhound stadium was followed by a remembrance ceremony there

Newton Abbot, Devon ... where local reverend, Chas Deacon, led a moving ceremony in memory of the victims of dog racing ... note thsi track has since closed due to the campaign.

Antwerp, Belgium ... where about 150 people and the same number of dogs took part in a remembrance event

We've received the message below from the Nottingham Anti Animal Racing Society ( NAARS ) and agree totally with what they say. This does not take much effort and can be done anyday. Please don't hesitate to contact us for leaflets, which are available free of charge.

"One of the most effective ways of promoting awareness about the inherent cruelty of greyhound racing NAARS has found, is to leave anti-dog racing literature in public places (eg. libraries, dentist surgeries, notice boards etc). Many people who have come up to our stall in Nottingham have commented how they read a leaflet they found in a public place. This is a legal and highly effective way to raise awareness, especially for those people who do not want to picket greyhound stadiums or betting shops or any other similiar events. We had been told by several gamblers that this method stopped them from every wanting to bet on the dogs again, which is good news all round - both for the gambling public (because let's be honest, we all know many greyhound races are fixed) and for the greyhounds themselves."

Rusty ... another victim of greyhound racing

Rusty's murderer ... convicted animal abuser Andrew Gough

On Sunday, May 2nd 2004, a black male greyhound (later found to have been called Rusty) was
discovered by a dog walker, who heard him whimpering in agony in a rubbish tip on Fochriw Mountain
in the Rhymney Valley, South Wales.

Rusty had been injured in several ways, including being shot in the head with a captive-bolt pistol,
and his ears had been hacked off (presumably, because they contained tattoos that could identify
him).

Despite this appalling torture, Rusty was still alive - and wagging his tail - but his injuries were
so extensive that he was later "put to sleep" by a vet.

Later that year, at Caerphilly Magistrates Court, greyhound "executioner" Andrew Gough was sentenced
to 6 months imprisonment for torturing Rusty and banned from keeping animals for life.

It is almost five years since poor Rusty was mutilated and left to die, because he was no longer fit
to race. On the first weekend of May, we will be remembering him, and all the other dogs that have
suffered and died at the evil hands of the greyhound racing industry.

It emerged during Gough's trial that Rusty's "owner" and trainer had handed him over to Gough to
kill, after a toe injury had ended the greyhound's racing career.

On May 2nd & 3rd, to mark the fifth anniversary of his suffering and death, we will be holding a
Remembering Rusty Weekend, in memory of Rusty and of all the other dogs who have suffered and died
at the hands of the greyhound racing industry.

Greyhound Action supporters throughout the country will be organising/taking part in street stalls,
demos outside greyhound tracks etc. to mark Remembering Rusty Weekend by persuading the public to
boycott greyhound racing.

If you're interested in organising/taking part in an event in your local area for Remembering Rusty
Weekend, please contact Greyhound Action as soon as possible at info@greyhoundaction.org.uk or on
01562 700 043, so we can send you leaflets, posters and other campaign materials and give you any
advice you may need.

See www.greyhoundaction.org.uk/justiceForRusty.htm for more info about the Rusty case and previous
events in his memory.

for info on similar cases click here

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