Bord na gCon to shame dopers

The greyhound racing industry body Bord na gCon has said it hopes that the naming of a number of greyhound owners who have doped their dogs with cocaine will act as a deterrent to others.

Two owners, both from Northern Ireland, were fined and given a severe warning when their dogs tested positive for Benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine.

It is the first time that dogs which raced in the Republic of Ireland, have tested positive for cocaine. Similar cases have been detected in the UK, Australia and the US.

The issue, though, was raised in the Dáil last year during a Fine Gael Private Member's Bill on doping in the greyhound industry. The then justice spokesman Jim O'Keeffe, a former part-time greyhound owner, said he had been told that some handlers had a "supply of cocaine in one pocket and bread soda in the other and that this potent cocktail is a common weapon in the doping armoury at our greyhound tracks".

Fine Gael sports spokeswoman Olivia Mitchell described the doping of greyhounds with cocaine and amphetamines as "appalling" and a "betrayal" of the industry.

David Wilson, from Belfast, was fined €1,000 when Tullyglen Hubba tested positive for Benzoylecgonine at Dundalk racecourse on April 5th. The dog finished fourth.

Stephen Ryan, from Lisburn, Co Antrim, was fined €2,000 when She's a Promise, who finished fourth at Lifford on February 24th, and He's a Buck, which finished second at Lifford on March 24th, both tested positive for cocaine.

A total of 14 greyhound owners were fined by the independent Control Committee which was set up in June to adjudicate on all issues relating to doping in the industry.

Along with cocaine, greyhounds tested positive for amphetamines in two cases, Benzylpiperazine (herbal ecstasy), caffeine, acepromozine (a tranquilliser) and the painkillers Ibuprofen and Carprofen. The secretary of the Control Committee DJ Histon said the effect of publishing the list would act to isolate those who had doped their dogs.

"Publication is a penalty in itself. The greyhound public themselves will welcome the publication of these findings because they want the sport to be clean."

Bord na gCon chief executive Adrian Neilan said the fines, which were substantial by the standards of the greyhound industry, would also act as a deterrent. He also pointed out that of the 5,500 dogs tested at tracks in the Republic every year, only 1 per cent test positive for a banned substance.

A spokesman for the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism said the penalties imposed "sent out a signal" to the rest of the industry and showed the committee was working the way it was supposed to work.