Having worked in the industry for 30 years, the Buggys explain to MICHAEL PARSONSin Kilgreaney, Co Carlow, why they're angry about proposed legislation
“THE PEOPLE are being hit hard enough as it is, without their sport being hit as well,” said Mary Buggy yesterday in her farmyard at Kilgreaney, south Co Carlow.
She has been breeding, training and racing greyhounds for 30 years and believes that the dogs’ welfare is already adequately regulated by existing legislation. Standing by her side, her husband Larry described the Dog Breeding Establishments Bill, which is due to be voted on by the Dáil next week, as “a pure disaster for the greyhound breeding industry”.
Like thousands of other dog breeders throughout the country, the couple are angry about the proposed legislation and confused by conflicting reports over possible amendments to be introduced by Minister for the Environment John Gormley. Mrs Buggy insisted that greyhound owners were not responsible for “puppy-farming” and were “very kind people who would feed their dogs before themselves”.
She explained that the industry was regulated by the 1958 Greyhound Industry Act and didn’t need “more red tape”. She claimed the Government was “losing touch with rural Ireland” and feared that “fox-hunting and fishing” could be targeted next. She called on Fianna Fáil TDs to “look after their people and see that we get our rights”.
Mr Buggy remarked that “because of the Greens you can’t even hang out a bone for a dog now”. He was astonished that “the Government [which] should be discussing more important matters” was devoting so much time to the dog breeding issue and was “very much afraid that Fianna Fáil is bending to the Greens”.
He added: “As far as I’m concerned, the good politicians are down under the sod.”
As the couple prepared to travel to Dublin’s Shelbourne Park last night to race their dogs “Kilgreaney Sport” and “Kilgreaney Hawkeye”, Mr Buggy appealed to Mr Gormley to “get off our back and leave us alone”.
During a visit to Co Carlow earlier this week, Mr Gormley said that greyhounds could not be exempted from the Bill although he had agreed to add a review clause to assess after one year if there had been any detrimental effect on the greyhound industry. Following intense lobbying by backbench Fianna Fáil and Independent TDs, the Minister is understood to be finalising a series of amendments to the Bill and claims he will do “nothing to undermine” the greyhound industry, which he regards as a “very important industry for this country”.
A spokesman for the Minister later added that greyhounds could not be excluded from the Bill because the Attorney General had advised that the 1958 Greyhound Act did not regulate welfare. He said that in 2008, the most recent year for which figures are available, 10,000 dogs were destroyed in local authority pounds, of which 10 per cent were greyhounds. But he said the percentage of greyhounds was much higher – as many as one in four in certain counties such as Clare, Tipperary and Galway.
According to Mr Gormley, the purpose of the Dog Breeding Establishments Bill is to enhance animal welfare and end what he called the “appalling” practice of “puppy-farming”. As drafted, the Bill would require local authorities throughout the State to set up a register of dog breeding establishments and to establish a system of inspections.
The law would define a dog breeding establishment as a premises with at least six bitches which are “more than four months old and capable of being used for breeding purposes”. The law provides for penalties, with fines up to a maximum of €100,000 and a jail term of five years or both.
The Bill also increases the cost of traditional dog licences. Owners of dog breeding establishments would be required to register and pay annual fees and to microchip dogs. Dog pounds, hunt clubs, commercial boarding kennels and charitable dog operations (such as those used for mountain rescue) would be exempt from paying fees but would be required to register and be subject to possible inspection.