Seanad debates

Wednesday, 3 March 2010

Dog Breeding Establishments Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed)

 

12:00 pm

Photo of Paudie CoffeyPaudie Coffey (Fine Gael)

Yes. If they were not euthanised, does the Minister want them left to live in a kennel somewhere? The Irish Greyhound Board takes a responsible approach to how it manages greyhounds which are no longer racing. The board has refuted the Department's figures on stray dogs. In recent research it did with county council dog pounds, it found 151 greyhounds were put to sleep one year, which comes to 1% of the total. The Irish Greyhound Board also funds the greyhound-as-pet scheme and the retired greyhound trust which successfully re-homes many greyhounds when their racing careers are finished.

The board has to be realistic too. That is why the euthanisation of greyhounds can also be a humane end to a greyhound's life rather than abandonment. There is a responsible approach in this regard. The Minister has introduced a red herring to justify a Bill which is not complete.

The Minister did not address my point on the Bill's definition of a "bitch" as being a bitch over four months old capable of being used for breeding purposes. Anyone will tell the Minister that any four month old bitch is not capable of breeding or having a litter. We must come up with some realistic definition of a bitch. I have suggested it should concern whether a bitch is capable of breeding. That should be the yardstick as a definition and not picking out of the air four months as a figure. Anyone could tell the Minister that it would not apply to the breeding cycle of a bitch.

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