Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister, Deputy Creed, is also here. We spoke about this issue this morning before Leaders' Questions. We will act on the basis of the evidence that was put forward in a very helpful but very graphic way from what I have been told about the programme last night. It is not acceptable that greyhounds that are to be put down because of injury or whatever other reason are not put down in an appropriate manner with the supervision of a vet. The days of sending a dog to the knackery or to the abattoir are long since over or they should be. Illegal activity will be pursued. We have the animal welfare legislation in place and new legislation for the greyhound industry to be able to ensure we have a proper transparent system that tracks where dogs are, who owns them, where they travel to, to whom they are sold and so on. If there is over-breeding within this sector, which I suspect perhaps there is, that is also something the Government needs to look at from a policy perspective. This is a sector the State significantly supports financially. It is an important one. It needs to be supported but it also needs to stamp illegal activity or animal welfare concerns, which were outlined last night.

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