Two East Lothian girls, Finleigh and Kalya Wells from Haddington, spoke out about animal welfare at the SNP’s annual conference.
The girls are long term members of Greyhound Action Scotland, a campaign to highlight the plight of racing greyhounds in Scotland. The girls have been campaigners within the group, which has the ultimate aim of banning commercial greyhound racing in Scotland, for 7 years.
At a Fringe event entitled The Missing Link hosted by Advocates for Animals, the two sisters were interviewed by Christine Grahame MSP about why animal welfare is important to the voters of tomorrow.
To coincide with the event Advocates for Animals has released the findings of new independent opinion pollsshowing the importance of animal welfare to people in Scotland. The polls reveal that:
·The majority (55%) of people in Scotland would be more likely to vote for a party that had a clear commitment to act to improve the welfare of animals in Scotland
·94% of people in Scotland think it is important for animal welfare to be one of the things young people in Scotland learn about at school
·Public support for a ban on snares in Scotland has grown to a massive 79%
Looking forward to the Fringe event later today, Finleigh Wells, aged 15 and a former KnoxAcademy pupil, said:
“I want Scotland to be known as a country where animal cruelty does not happen; where there is no factory farming and no breeding of puppies for profit, where wildlife is safe, where animals like baby seals are not killed needlessly or because they get in the way of business.”
Finleigh’s younger sister, Kalya Wells, aged 11, who is currently a pupil at KingsMeadowPrimary School in Haddington, added:
“All sorts of horrible things happen to animals. It upsets me and I want things to change.
One of our rescued greyhounds was given drugs to make him race faster and another couldn't even race because he'd been treated so badly and was scared of men. “
Advocates for Animals’ Political Director, Libby Anderson, added:
“We are delighted that Finleigh and Kalya wanted to join us at the SNP conference to tell the party why animal welfare is important to them. They set a great example of the kind of compassionate young people we should be encouraging in our society. We are sure that members of the SNP were interested to hear what the girls have to say and hope that their presence will encourage the party to do more for animals in Scotland.”
Demo - Glasgow Shawfield
Members and supporters of Greyhound Action Scotland , an organisation which campaigns from street to Government for the ending of greyhound racing as an acceptable sport given the huge welfare issues, held an anti-racing demonstration outside Shawfield in Rutherglen on Saturday night ahead of the meeting. Shawfield is Scotland ’s only remaining NGRC registered greyhound racing track.
As the protest was about to get underway, in a surreal moment, staff from the track came out on to the street and removed placards which had been placed against lampposts before scuttling back inside. While the protest organiser called the police to report a theft, another member went to the front door of the stadium asking on whose authority the placards had been removed. He was met with threats of the police being called before the door was firmly shut with no response to ringing the doorbell. This was filmed by a protestor on a mobile camera phone.
Around twenty minutes later, another member of track staff returned the placards and spoke with us of his love for greyhounds, having one as a pet, and couldn’t understand the actions of his employers. After a couple of minutes he was called back in by his bosses.
Protestors then assembled outside the main entrance for photos when the noise of a helicopter was heard. To everyone’s amazement the helicopter hovered over the demo and through cameras we could clearly see the police filming the protest. We lifted our placards and banners so the police also got the message. In times of financial constraints, we really need to question the validity and intentions of this operation.
When the police finally did arrive – at first two officers, followed by an inspector in an unmarked car, they were professional and accepted our right to protest peacefully. They thought that the intention of the stadium management by removing the placards had been to provoke a reaction from protestors. No joy there then.
As the small crowd began to arrive, many accepted leaflets and information about the campaign while some wished to meet a greyhound up close and personal, hearing stories of their abandonment and mistreatment by the racing industry and subsequent rescue. Passing cars also sounded their horns in support. What came through was that even race goers knew all was not well with the industry and some questioned the morality of continuing to attend racing.
Amanda Wells, chair of Greyhound Action Scotland, following the successful protest said “tonight shows the National Greyhound Racing Club and those who support a cruel sport that we are not going to go away. Indeed the actions of the stadium management only strengthen our resolve to step up the campaign and organise further protests on their doorstep. We are delighted with the response of race-goers and passing traffic – the greyhound racing industry is dying on its feet all over the UK and tonight brings the end one step closer.”
POLICE were called to a demonstration against greyhound racing at Shawfield Stadium in Rutherglen on Saturday evening.
Members and supporters of Greyhound Action Scotland, an organisation which campaigns from street to Government for the ending of greyhound racing as an acceptable sport given the huge welfare issues, held an anti-racing demonstration ahead of a meeting.
This was to highlight conditions within the greyhound racing industry, and the protesters claim the mass slaughter of healthy greyhounds once they can no longer race.
They say that greyhound racing is widely seen as innocent entertainment but investigations into the sport have uncovered evidence of cruelty, neglect and widespread slaughter of dogs involved. Shawfield is Scotland’s only remaining National greyhound Racing Club-registered greyhound racing track.
Protestors assembled outside the main entrance for photos when the noise of a helicopter was heard. To everyone’s amazement the helicopter hovered over the demo and through cameras they could clearly see the police filming the protest.
Protestors said their placards were removed from the Shawfield railings by staff, before being returned.
A spokesman said: “We lifted our placards and banners so the police also got the message.
“When the police finally did arrive – at first two officers, followed by an inspector in an unmarked car, they were professional and accepted our right to protest peacefully.”
Amanda Wells, chair of Greyhound Action Scotland, said: “This shows the National Greyhound Racing Club and those who support a cruel sport that we are not going to go away.
“We were delighted with the response of racegoers and passing traffic – the greyhound racing industry is dying on its feet all over the UK.”
Supporting the protest was 1World Scotland, the country’s newest animal rights charity.
1World Scotland convenor John Patrick, himself a Rutherglen resident stated: 'We fully support Greyhound Action Scotland's campaign.
“With thousands of healthy dogs being killed each year because they don't make the grade and the horrific injuries sustained during events greyhound racing in Scotland is a major animal welfare issue which is consistently being ignored.
"With the scant affordable recreational and sporting facilities in Rutherglen especially for youngsters I'm sure the powers that be could encourage a better and more positive use for the stadium."
A spokeswoman for Shawfield said: “We don’t have any problem with the protestors, as they have a right to protest, and sometimes leave wreaths on the railings.
“We usually find if we leave them alone, they tend to leave us alone, and it tends to be quite amicable. They are entirely within their rights to make their views known.
“However, we do our bit to help greyhounds when they do stop racing. On October 11, we’re hosting an evening for the Retired Greyhounds Trust, when there will be tables, raffles, races, and so on.”
Greyhound Action Scotland Wins Award!
Greyhound Action Scotland are delighted to announce that campaigner, Finleigh Wells, aged 14, has been Highly Commended in the 2007 Deutsche Bank Spotlight Awards for her contribution to the Greyhound Action Scotland campaign.
Finleigh, an S3 pupil at KnoxAcademy in Haddington, first became involved in the campaign after taking home a rescued greyhound, who was no longer able to race, when she was just 7 years old. Since then, the family has grown to include four retired greyhounds and a Lurcher.
The Greyhound Action Scotland campaign focuses on raising awareness of the plight of the racing greyhound and the aim of the campaign is to ban the sport of greyhound racing in Scotland.
Tens of thousands of greyhounds are bred each year in the UK and Ireland for use in the sport. The average career for a racing greyhound is just 18 months. Many greyhounds are discarded or culled when they are no longer able to race.
In March 2007, a CountyDurham man was fined following the discovery that he charged racing owners £10 to shoot racing greyhounds with a bolt gun and bury them on his land.
Finleigh has tirelessly worked to raise awareness of the plight of the racing greyhound by holding stalls at various events and even giving ‘talks’ at school!She has also been involved in the rescue and rehoming of greyhounds.
In addition to this, Finleigh has had a short story published in the book “Greyhound Survivors” and taken part in many demonstrations including giving a speech at the March for Greyhounds in Hyde Park Speakers Corner last November.
Finleigh says:
“I was really surprised to win this award.Its brilliant that a campaign to try to stop greyhounds from suffering is recognised.Dogs shouldn’t suffer and die in Scotland for the sake of running them round a track.We need to ban this sport. Greyhounds are wonderful dogs and make good pets –they don’t deserve to be treated this way”
The Deutsche Bank Spotlight Awards, judged by a panel including GMTV’s Ben Sheppard, are to recognise young people taking action for things that they believe in. Finleigh’s campaigning was singled out as being ‘noteworthy’ and chosen to be highly commended for her campaigning work.Finleigh was awarded a certificate and awarded £20 to help her with future campaigning.
THE huge metal skeleton of what should be Scotland's premier greyhound racing venue - a £9 million, custom-built playground for punters - stretches into the East Lothian sky, still incomplete almost ten years after its conception.
Towering 21 metres over a field on the edge of Wallyford, the iron framework hints at what could be - a thriving racing stadium bringing jobs, income and visitors, where the sport would blossom under tight controls and animals were cared for well into old age.
But instead of a stadium that was once touted as a potential Mecca for racing fans, the rows of metal beams have now lain untouched for more than a year.
Now concerns are beginning to emerge as to whether Dirleton accountant and property developer Howard Wallace's ambitious dream will ever really come true.
"People are starting to wonder if this is ever going to happen," says one racing insider. "Everyone involved in the sport is desperate to see it and wants to be positive, but there are people in the greyhound world who don't think it will ever happen now."
Can they be blamed for wondering what on earth is going on? For if this was a race towards construction, then the Victory Lane Stadium appears to have failed to make it out of the traps.
It was back in 1997 when Mr Wallace - one of the leading lights in the campaign to save Edinburgh's Powderhall Stadium - announced his plans to develop a new eight-lane venue so grand that it would attract fans from across Europe. They would be drawn to the small community of Wallyford to watch races from the three-storey grandstand, complete with bars, fast food joints, a restaurant and even an on-site disco to complete the package.
The metal frame now visible would have the capacity to seat nearly 2000 people, with 3000 more able to stroll along the terracing. Even the dogs were expected to be pampered, for Mr Wallace's proposals included an unprecedented plan to provide the very best accommodation a pooch could wish for.
Centrally-heated, air conditioned kennels for up to 126 dogs with veterinary facilities and under-trackheating were envisaged, while for those animals too old or injured to race, a "luxury retirement home" to ease them into a cosseted old age.
Initially Mr Wallace - who runs the greyhound stadium business Sirius Sport and Leisure with his wife, Glenys - was upbeat and determined.
Plans were lodged in January 1998, when he declared his intention to model the track on the world-famous Albion Park in Brisbane, Australia. Work, it was said at the time, would be underway within that year.
Instead, planning permission was finally granted last year - by which time the costs had soared from an original £4m estimate to £6m, and then £9m.
The metal frame appeared last year, giving fresh hopes. Now, however, it seems its construction - by a company understood to be no longer linked to the development - was simply to comply with a legal requirement to enable work to begin on a housing estate on adjoining land.
According to the minutes of a legal agreement between East Lothian Council, David Wilson Homes and Sirius, dated November 2004: "No house shall be erected on any of the housing area unless and until the stadium has reached a stage of construction whereby the following elements have been completed: the foundations, underbuilding and steel structure, and the provision of water and drainage connections to the stadium, grandstand and kennels."
"Of course everyone is wondering what is going on," admits Wallyford councillor Pat O'Donnell. "Mr Wallace has had permission to go ahead for a while now and people are obviously wondering if it has run into problems or not.
"The actual steel framework has been up for ages, and most people in the area were looking forward to it all happening. There used to be a track in Wallyford and there was a time when buses full of people used to pour in on a Monday and Friday night to the racing. Some people weren't keen on this, but many see the potential for jobs and visitors.
"Any time I speak to Mr Wallace he is fairly confident about things. But the fact is that the structure is there and nothing seems to be happening."
Previously happy to speak about his plans, Mr Wallace has suddenly become less keen to talk of his stadium dream, now refusing to comment or be interviewed.
The last statement from his camp, published in the Evening News last week, confirmed £2.6m has already been spent on the project, with the basic structure, drainage and ground works now complete. It said: "The internal and external designs for the stadium are complete, as is the design work for the approach and access roads, lighting, etc.
"However, there has been a temporary delay caused by matters associated with the adjoining lands. We expect work to start the next phase of the stadium development as soon as these issues are resolved, and to have the stadium up and running in 2007."
Quite what those issues are remain a mystery. According to East Lothian Council, planning permission has been granted and Mr Wallace has five years to complete his project or face re-submitting his application. "From a planning and legal point of view, everything is straightforward," says a council spokeswoman. "We have no problems or concerns about this application at this stage."
Others are feeling less relaxed, however. "We are really getting a bit concerned now," says Edinburgh-based greyhound owner Janice Carmichael. "It's quite frightening for us if Mr Wallace is refusing to talk about things - everyone is hoping that everything is alright because we need this racing track.
"Wallyford would be a proper track operating under National Racing Greyhound Council rules - at the moment there's only Shawfield in Glasgow and we're travelling there three times a week, adding to our costs.
"I've never known something take so long to be built. They can throw up a housing estate in months, but this is taking ages.
"Financially, we can't go on for much longer putting money into something but not getting results back. There are lots of rumours flying around and no-one really knows what is happening, except for Mr Wallace."
TRACKING POWDERHALL'S COLOURFUL HISTORY
THE pastime of dog racing has long been popular with the people of Edinburgh.
Powderhall Stadium in Beaverhall Road was originally built in 1870 for cycling and athletics and the site hosted Scottish rugby matches and Hearts and Hibs games.
Dog racing began there in 1929, and later speedway team the Edinburgh Monarchs made it their home for 19 years.
The stadium survived a £25,000 fire in 1987, a dog doping scandal and a "jinx" which saw a number of dogs greyhounds injured.
But in 1995 Powderhall went bust as owner Eddie Ramsay used stadium money to pay debts on nightclubs, and its terraces were bulldozed.
Since then there has been only one greyhound track operating in Scotland under the rules and control of the National Greyhound Racing Club - at Shawfield, Glasgow.
Greyhound stadium plan 'still on track'
THE man behind a £9 million unfinished greyhound stadium has insisted the project will be completed.
East Lothian businessman Howard Wallace of Sirius Sport and Leisure said the eight-lane Victory Lane Stadium at Wallyford would hopefully be completed by the end of the year.
Work, he added, was expected to re-start in the next month.
The steel frame of the stadium's grandstand was erected last summer but has not been completed.
Mr Wallace said: "I had rainwater issues to resolve before I could go any further but that has now been dealt with.
"It is definitely going to happen. There is no one more passionate about greyhounds than me. I had hoped to have it open last year. It's just taken longer to get things organised.
He added: "It is only part of the overall development that will take place in Wallyford as I have applied to build a small supermarket, pharmacy and a medical centre. My vision is to help with the regeneration of Wallyford."
Hotel bid to stop greyhound arena from going to the dogs
STEPHANIE BUNGAY
A DEVELOPER has unveiled ambitious plans to build a hotel, supermarket and medical centre alongside a greyhound stadium in Wallyford.
Businessman Howard Wallace has revealed he wants to transform the site into a major entertainment and tourism venue, costing in excess of £15 million.
The businessman is currently building a greyhound arena at Victory Lane Stadium, which he hopes to establish as one of the country's premier venues.
The scheme has run into trouble in recent months - with costs having soared to £14m. But today he sought to reassure locals he remained committed to the venture and is now setting his sights on regenerating the rest of the area.
Under his ambitious plans, he hopes to build a 240-bedroom hotel on land to the south west of the stadium. He admitted he is yet to approach any company about the project, but he said he would be looking to establish a partnership with a prestigious chain.
"It wouldn't necessarily be a budget chain. I want to bring a hotel operator in. It will be within walking distance of the stadium
"This will be an entertainment base, people will travel far to come here and will want to enjoy themselves and stay the night rather than have to drive home. We can make it a complete weekend, like offering golf weekends or racing with Musselburgh Race Course."
Mr Wallace said the plans were in the early stages, but if successful hoped the hotel to be ready within 18 months. He also wants to turn a business park to the south of the stadium on land he bought several years ago into a supermarket, medical centre and chemist, which would take up two thirds of the area, with the rest for offices.
Mr Wallace, who owns greyhound stadium business Sirius Sport and Leisure with his wife, Glenys, said it had proved difficult to get companies to relocate to the site. He said: "It proved impossible in getting anyone to take it on. Wallyford is not everyone's cup of tea, there are too many alternatives that people prefer."
Undeterred he has now applied to East Lothian Council for change of use. Councillors will discuss his proposals later this year and Mr Wallace, 59, is hopeful of getting approval.
"They don't have a supermarket, medical centre or pharmacy here, so it will be providing something for people. Of course it may be that they prefer another site, but I think this is ideal."
If successful, he plans to sell the site and estimates he could make around £6m. That money would be used to safeguard the future of the greyhound stadium, which Mr Wallace has been working on for nearly a decade. It is now three years behind schedule. He said paperwork was to blame for the delay, which has also seen the cost of the project rise from its initial £4m to over £14m.
"Because time has gone on, the costs have gone way beyond what I ever envisaged paying. Construction costs have gone through the roof over the past few years and it is a headache facing a lot of companies."
Cutting back on unnecessary extras, such as expensive wood finishing, and reducing the number of lanes from eight to six, has brought costs down to £9.9m.
But with a budget of £7m, on top of the £2.6m he has already spent so far he still faces a £2.9m shortfall. He hopes the sale of the land for a business park will make up the difference.
But if the application is unsuccessful then he said he would look at going into partnership with someone.
Mr Wallace, who hopes the stadium will be open by next year, said: "I am still very much committed to it, it is my passion. It is just very much dependent on how that will happen."
_____________________________
Failed bid to reintroduce racing in Edinburgh:
Stadium goes to the dogs
ALAN RODEN
IT once attracted thousands to the famous Powderhall Stadium.
Now greyhound racing could be poised to make a comeback in the Capital, thanks to plans to stage races at Meadowbank.
David Welsh, a former chairman of the Powderhall Greyhound Owners Association, is leading a delegation of enthusiasts trying to persuade the council to back the idea.
It is thought a racing surface could be relatively easily installed around the outside of the stadium's existing athletics track.
Mr Welsh is keen to get the idea off the ground after plans for a new £14 million greyhound stadium in East Lothian stalled.
He said: "We're at a preliminary stage of looking at parts of Edinburgh that could have a greyhound racing track.
"There is a large space at Meadowbank that could be utilised for this, and we have had planning experts take a look at the site.
"Powderhall was very popular until its last days when it wasn't properly managed. I'm sure the demand for greyhound racing is still there.
"We don't want any money from the council, as we would find people to invest in the track. Races could run around three times a week, and speedway could also be hosted there.
"This isn't going to happen overnight, but we want to discuss the idea with the city council."
Powderhall closed in the mid-1990s, as campaigners including Mr Welsh lost their battle to save it from demolition.
Mr Welsh is set to speak at the council's culture and leisure committee meeting next Tuesday.
The city's sports leader, Councillor Deidre Brock, has indicated she is happy to discuss the idea.
Powderhall Stadium, which was in Beaverhall Road, was considered one of the country's best venues for greyhound racing.
Greyhound racing began there in 1927, and attracted over 10,000 people at the first meeting.
A new £400,000 grandstand was built in the 1980s, shortly before ownership changed several times. The stadium survived a £25,000 fire in 1987, but went bust in 1995 after owner Eddie Ramsay used stadium money to pay off other debts.
City planners backed a campaign to retain the stadium, but they were overruled by Scottish Office officials. It was replaced with housing and an office block. However, the move to bring back greyhound racing will not be met with universal support.
Amanda Wells, who lives in Haddington and is chair of Greyhound Action Scotland, said: "Greyhound racing tracks are closing all over the UK, and a lot of that is due to welfare concerns. It would be a disaster if a new track opened in the east of Scotland."
Ross Minett, campaigns director with Edinburgh-based organisation Advocates for Animals, said:
"There is surely no place for greyhound racing in a modern city in the 21st century."
PROJECT STUCK IN THE STARTING GATE
PLANS to build Scotland's premier greyhound racing stadium in East Lothian have faltered in recent years.
Accountant and property developer Howard Wallace claimed his £4 million venture near Wallyford would attract fans from across Europe.
Plans were lodged in 1998 but planning permission was not granted until 2005.
The steel frame of the grandstand was erected that year, but the project stalled.
Last August, Mr Wallace said he was still committed to the project, but East Lothian Council today said no progress has been made.
The full article contains 558 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.Last Updated: 31 January 2008 11:26 AM
SO, there's to be an attempt to bring greyhound racing back to Edinburgh by private businessmen installing, at their own cost, an extra surface surrounding Meadowbank's athletics track? I, for one, would go along to watch and have a punt. It's a wonderful spectacle, a good night out and a fun way to relieve yourself of a small amount of money, although the odds are far better than the Lottery.
Greyhounds are bred to run and to race. Those concerned about animal rights should recognise that if there were no race tracks there would be far, far fewer greyhounds (or whippets). Indeed, such is the exercise they need, few people would want to keep them and greyhounds could become a threatened breed.
Still, I do foresee problems. Anyone who remembers the nights out at Powderhall will no doubt recall with great fondness the supper in a basket followed by trays of foaming ales and continental lagers brought to your warm, comfy seats - none of these attributes can one associate with the cold, damp stand that is Meadowbank Stadium. Such is the howling wind chill factor blowing off the Queen's park that you wouldn't need ice in your rum and coke.
If greyhound racing is to prosper at Meadowbank they will need to think about installing some removable bars and sofas under the stand for use between each race – but mutton pies can't be allowed. Punters will always be tempted to throw one the way of the four-legged favourite, so spoiling the race for the bookies who will put the money up in the first place!
Second was part of the weekly Edinburgh past feature in Saturday's. Please keep emails going to the Evening News:
Finest track in the land and a clear favourite
Powderhall Greyhound Stadium, walking the dogs before the race. Picture: Jack Crombie
By JONNY ABRAMS
NEWS that greyhound racing could be set to make a comeback in Edinburgh, for the first time since the closure of the track at Powderhall Stadium in 1995, has divided public opinion.
While many would welcome a return to their favourite sporting ritual, there are also a number of dissenting voices expressing concern about the treatment of the dogs involved. Nevertheless, plans are afoot to install a new racing track around the outside of the athletics track at Meadowbank. For fans of greyhound racing this will no doubt have sparked memories of the days when Powderhall was the finest racing stadium in the land.
Powderhall opened in 1870 and originally staged athletics and cycling events. It was not until 1927 that it began hosting greyhound racing. No fewer than 10,000 spectators turned up for the first meeting, on August 3.
In 1928, Boher Ash, a greyhound kennelled at the track and trained by Tommy Johnston, won the English Derby.
The first Edinburgh Cup was staged at Powderhall in 1933 and soon became one of the top events in the sporting calendar. The Scottish Derby took place there in 1987 and 1988, while other major events held there include the Scottish St Leger and Scottish Grand National.
The stadium was modernised in 1970, when new facilities included a 100-seater restaurant. The track had undersoil heating installed in 1979 to ensure that racing could take place throughout the winter months. In 1987, a new £400,000 grandstand was unveiled to mark the track's 60th anniversary.
The same year Powderhall survived a £25,000 fire. Two years before that, it had managed to fend off a flood. The track survived another blaze in 1993, but financial difficulties proved unsurmountable and it was sold for housing redevelopment in 1995.
The news of greyhound racing's possible return is being met with opposition from several different charities set up specifically for re-housing and raising awareness of the plight of these dogs.
"Greyhound racing tracks are closing all over the UK, and a lot of that is due to welfare concerns," said Amanda Wells, chairwoman of Greyhound Action Scotland, "It would be a disaster if a new track opened in the east of Scotland."
Letter:
Too heavy price for a night at the dogs
LIKE Brian Monteith ("I'd have a punt on Meadowbank hounds", News, February 1), I used to think greyhound racing was "a wonderful spectacle, a good night out and a fun way to relieve yourself of a small amount of money".
For several years, I attended race nights until I discovered something that caused brought my nights at the dogs to an end.
What I found out was that thousands of greyhounds are put to death every year before they even reach the tracks, after failing to come up to racing standard.
Many of these dogs are bred in Ireland and are killed there after being deemed not good enough to send to Britain for racing.
Nevertheless, it is the British greyhound racing industry that is responsible for the tragic fate of these dogs, as it is the demand from tracks over here that has caused them to be bred.
Greyhounds have been around for hundreds of years, but have only been raced since the 1920s, so Brian Monteith is wrong to say they "could become a threatened breed . . . if there were no race tracks".
I now find myself on the side of those who oppose the building of a new track in Edinburgh, which would lead to even more of these dogs losing their lives.
THE bid to bring greyhound racing to Meadowbank Stadium has fallen flat, after the city's sports leader declared it was a "non-starter".
David Welsh, former chairman of the Powderhall Greyhound Owners Association, had hoped to persuade the city council to back the idea of a combined dog and speedway track.
But Councillor Deidre Brock today said the authority is not considering the proposal, after meeting with members of the campaign group Hands off Powderhall.
She said: "There is absolutely no appetite in this administration for a greyhound and speedway track – we have never given consideration to it at any stage.
"We listened to what Hands off Powderhall had to say, as promised, but as far as I am concerned, this idea is a non-starter.
"Aside from the issues I have about animal welfare and noise problems, our focus remains on developing a range of first-class facilities under sportscotland's national and regional sports facilities programme and on developing and investing in the city's community facilities."
Mr Welsh had led a delegation of enthusiasts in an attempt to rally support for the idea. They suggested a racing surface could be relatively easily installed around the outside of the stadium's existing athletics track.
He was keen to get the idea off the ground after plans for a new £14 million greyhound stadium in East Lothian stalled.
Reacting to the news today, Mr Welsh said: "Obviously this is very disappointing. We were let down with Powderhall Stadium. We think the council is basically dead-set on having housing on part of the land at Meadowbank, but this would be rather short-sighted.
"Greyhound racing would be very popular and bring huge numbers of people to Meadowbank. We could also have speedway racing on the same track.
"I don't think there's a great deal we can do now. We even asked if there's any possibility of another piece of land in the city, but the answer was no. If there was, it would be required for housing."
"There's still the partly-built stadium in Wallyford, but it's only been a skeleton for several years now."
Mr Welsh was one of the campaigners who fought to save Powderhall Stadium, in Beaverhall Road, from demolition after it closed in the mid-1990s.
It was once considered one of the country's best venues for greyhound racing, which began there in 1927, with thousands attending each meeting.
But animal welfare groups today welcomed the council's decision, saying they were glad there is no longer a place in the city for greyhound racing.
Tony Peters, co-ordinator of Greyhound Action, said: "We're absolutely delighted. There's obviously a lot of concern about the treatment and slaughter of dogs in the industry.
"There's very little appetite for a greyhound track anywhere. People are becoming more aware of what happens to these dogs. Around three to four thousand retired dogs are killed every year, but we also estimate 15,000 puppies are bred and killed before they ever run a race."
The full article contains 510 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
Last Updated: 11 February 2008
Another failed bid for a track at Livingston:
Plans to bring greyhounds to Livingston get ruff reception
ON THE RIGHT TRACK: Powderhall racing owner Eddie Ramsay may buy Livingston FC
Published Date: 07 March 2008
By MARK McLAUGHLIN
LIVINGSTON FC bosses said they are yet to be convinced by an ambitious proposal to build a dogtrack at Almondvale Stadium.
It was reported today that Livingston owner Pearse Flynn is in talks to sell the First Division club in a £600,000 deal, and may sell to former Powderhall racing owner Eddie Ramsay.
However, he added that the club was still "a long way from completing a deal", while club chief executive Vivien Kyles said that proposals to introduce dog racing alongside football at the ground "doesn't seem logistically possible."
She added: "We currently have 10,000 seats but we only need 6000 to remain SPL compliant, but even with the reduced capacity I cannot see how you can fit a dog track around the football pitch.
"The fact of the matter is that dog tracks are oval whereas the pitch is a rectangle. I just don't see how it will work."
The ground is being leased to the club by owner West Lothian Council, and the club currently owes one year's rent totalling £150,000.
Ms Kyle said reports that the club was in debt to the council to the tune of £300,000 were "totally incorrect"
Until Mr Ramsey has presented a formal plan of how he intends to achieve to the dog track plan Ms Kyle said she will remain unconvinced.
The club has been approached by two other investors, and has also been in talks with the council over its own plans for the ground.
Ms Kyle added: "We have been in talks with the council about a project that could be much bigger than a dog track, but I am not prepared to say any more on this at the present time."
The council said that it is prepared to consider any proposal for Almondvale which protects the stadium, Livingston Football Club and enhances a sustainable future for both.
However, the council would not be drawn into any further discussion on the club's other proposals for the ground.
A spokesman said: "We cannot disclose details of private, commercial matters. We are in regular contact with the club working towards the continuing success of professional football in West Lothian."
Plans for a new greyhound track in the Lothians have faltered in recent years.
Accountant and property developer Howard Wallace began erecting a grandstand in Wallyford in 1998 but plans stalled and the ground remains unfinished.
A further bid to bring greyhound racing to Meadowbank Stadium also fell flat in February this year, after Edinburgh City Council's sports leader, Deidre Brock, declared it was a "non-starter".
Mr Ramsay has been looking for a new home for dog racing since the closure of Powderhall Stadium in 1995.
He said: "Football and greyhound racing can work hand in hand.
"Engineers and architects are confident the stadium can accommodate both sports. It's never easy to pull all the strands together but we're moving as quickly as possible in a bid to complete the deal."
The Sunday Times articles exposing the horror of the County Durham Killing Fields July 2006 at Seaham:
The Sunday Times 'Killing Fields', County Durham Investigation - July 2006
A man was found to be killing greyhounds with a Bolt-gun and burying them for £10 - its estimated he killed 10,000 greyhounds surplus to the racing industry's requirements over a 15 year period. To date two NGRC greyhound trainers and an Assistant race track Manager have been suspended pending further investigation. The dogs came from a licensed NGRC track. We wait to see whether any further news emerges.
The Sunday Times
July 30, 2006
Greyhounds killed for losing races
Daniel Foggo
Death was price of poor results
TWO greyhounds whose deaths are at the centre of a scandal that has engulfed the dog-racing industry were shot because they had performed poorly a few days earlier.
The dogs, whose names are now known to be Clash Nitro and Rent a Flyer, were pictured by an undercover photographer for The Sunday Times being led to their deaths by David Smith, the industry’s unofficial “executioner”. He is said to have killed up to 10,000 greyhounds over 15 years.
Smith was photographed just moments later pushing the greyhounds’ bodies in a wheelbarrow to bury them behind his house. Both dogs were less than three years old when they were killed this month.
It has now been established that the dogs were considered worthless by their owners, Gillian Young, a licensed trainer, and her husband Graeme, assistant racing manager at Pelaw Grange greyhound track in Co Durham.
Each dog had won races earlier this year but after they under-performed at a meeting three weeks ago the Youngs decided they did not want to continue racing them. The couple were told by a rehoming charity three days later that they would have to wait about a week before the greyhounds could be taken.
Instead, the next morning Clash Nitro and Rent a Flyer were taken to be shot in the head by Smith, a builders’ merchant from Seaham, Co Durham.
Their deaths were the subject of an exposé two weeks ago by The Sunday Times which showed how trainers were resorting to the mass slaughter of greyhounds no longer considered fast enough to race.
The revelations have shaken the greyhound industry and led to a government inquiry. Last week there were fresh calls for the animal welfare bill before parliament to be amended to subject trainers and owners to external regulation.
The Sunday Times secretly filmed the dogs being taken by Gillian Young and her father Sid Fenwick, also a licensed trainer, to be put down by Smith, who was then shown burying them in his back garden with a mechanical digger.
He told an undercover reporter it took him three years to fill the one-acre plot with bodies.
At the time the identities of Fenwick, the Youngs and the names of both dogs were unknown. Last week, however, the trainers’ details emerged and both Fenwick and Gillian Young were suspended by the National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC), the sport’s governing body, pending an inquiry that could see them banned.
Fenwick claimed he had been given the dogs by an unnamed man and did not know their identities, but their full histories have now been established.
Each illustrates how greyhounds are exploited to provide cheap entertainment and betting fodder before commonly being killed once their usefulness has ended.
For Clash Nitro, a male brindle, life began on November 1 2003 in Ireland. His potential was apparent early on. In his first race at Youghal stadium in Co Cork on July 5, 2005, Clash Nitro came second. Several more races followed, culminating in another second at Newbridge, Co Kildare, on December 3 that year.
Less than three weeks later Clash Nitro made the trip to Britain after being sold to Graeme Young. Young knew a good prospect when he saw one. He is the breeder of Laser Beam, a champion that is one of the top racers in Britain.
On January 21 last year Clash Nitro won an A5 race (most dogs compete in competitions graded from 11 to 1), and followed his victory a week later with another first place in the even faster A3 category. His racing form took a turn for the worse with successive fifth-place finishes and it was decided he was slightly lame.
Instead of taking him to a vet the Youngs opted for a “dog physiotherapist”, who recommended he be rested. After he was considered to have regained some fitness, he was raced again at Pelaw Grange on July 8. It was to prove his final lap, however. Another fifth place was one failure too many for his exacting owner.
Rent a Flyer, a black male, had an even shorter career. Born in Ireland on May 11, 2004, he made his racing debut 15 months later at Thurles, Co Tipperary, coming in fourth.
By December 2005 he had managed his first win, at Derry racetrack in Northern Ireland. Over the following two months he notched up three further wins and one second place.
Gillian Young bought Rent a Flyer, evidently thinking he was a good prospect. But trials were disappointing. The dog appeared to be suffering from slight lameness. In April he was taken, together with Clash Nitro, to see the “physio”.
After resting him, Gillian put him back on the track at the start of June but his practice performances were mixed. Later she tested Rent a Flyer in a trial at Pelaw Grange.
Like Clash Nitro, however, his efforts were considered insufficient to warrant further attention and money being spent on him. It was decided both dogs had to be “retired”. That day David Holmes, secretary of Northumberland Greyhound Rescue, a voluntary enterprise that has rehomed hundreds of unwanted “retired” dogs, received a call from someone acting as an intermediary for the Youngs. He said the Youngs were asking for the dogs to be taken off their hands.
“I said that we had no room right then, but that we would call back three days later on the Tuesday when we were expecting two other dogs to have been moved out,” said Holmes.
“I often get calls from guys saying if you don’t come and pick up the dog today it is set to be put to sleep in the morning. We have to get in the car and drive to a motorway car park or similar to pick them up.
“We called back on the Tuesday and said we still didn’t have room, but would have in a week to 10 days.”
NGRC rules state that dogs must be put down only when it is either medically necessary or all other options have been tried. Even then, they should be killed only by a vet using injections. The next morning, July 12, both dogs were bundled into a small Peugeot van and driven to Smith’s makeshift abattoir, referred to as “the Garden of Eden” by some in the greyhound industry.
Smith was paid £20 and both dogs were dispatched with a bolt gun.
Last night both Smith, whose practice is also the subject of inquiries by the RSPCA and the tax authorities, and the Youngs were on holiday and unavailable for comment. Graeme Young has also been suspended from his job at Pelaw Grange and faces a separate inquiry by the track’s owner, Jeff McKenna.
Fenwick, who insisted last week he had not known who owned the dogs he took to be killed, said: “I didn’t know the dogs’ names, I never bothered about them. I had no idea my daughter owned the dog.”
Finally, when pressed, he said: “Well, I had an inkling.”
CELEBRITY PROTEST
Greyhound racing has long been associated with the working classes, but the welfare of the dogs has become a cause célèbre for the rich and famous.
Among those who have pressed the government to intervene are actors such as Annette Crosbie, Richard Wilson and Charlotte Cornwell, as well as Joanna Lumley, Dame Diana Rigg, Alexandra Bastedo and Simon Callow.
Other supporters include Rory Bremner, the impressionist, Sir John Harvey-Jones, the businessman, Germaine Greer, the feminist writer, and Twiggy, the 1960s model.
Crosbie, star of BBC’s One Foot in the Grave and founder of Greyhounds UK, a welfare pressure group, said The Sunday Times exposé of the mass killing of retired greyhounds had “forced the issue onto the agenda in a spectacular way”.
She said some of the celebrity campaigners had owned greyhounds and lurchers themselves
A clinic that makes money out of putting down healthy animals
Daniel Foggo
A CLINIC is killing healthy dogs and secretly selling their body parts to Britain’s most prestigious veterinary college for research, an investigation has found.
The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has a financial agreement with a vet’s practice which provides the organs from dogs on a regular basis.
An undercover reporter posing as an owner found that staff at the Greyhound Clinic in Essex agreed to kill greyhounds for £30 each even though he told them the dogs had “nothing wrong with them”.
The clinic is then paid by the college, which specifically insists the dogs must be healthy before being euthanased, for each animal from which it supplies parts.
The RVC, which is the oldest and largest veterinary college in Britain, admitted that it had a number of similar financial agreements with other clinics to provide specimens.
The practice has “horrified” the RSPCA and animal welfare campaigners and even one of the heads of the greyhound racing industry itself.
The sport has been criticised for failing to explain the fate of thousands of greyhounds which retire from racing each year and then disappear without trace.
Alistair McLean, chief executive of the National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC), the industry’s governing body, said he was “flabbergasted” by the trade in body parts. “This is completely and utterly unacceptable,” he said. “It is quite scandalous.”
The RSPCA said: “We are shocked by this evidence which appears to show an opening for greyhounds to be systematically destroyed for profit. We certainly would not like to think that there was a financial incentive to ending a pet’s life.”
Maureen Purvis, of the campaign group Greyhounds UK, compared the practice with that of Burke and Hare, the19th century bodysnatchers who killed people to provide corpses for dissection. “What this clinic is doing is the canine equivalent of that,” she said. “It is just absolute butchery.”
Although the rules governing vets allow them to use their discretion on putting down healthy animals, in practice most are reluctant to do so.
The NGRC states that its trainers should put dogs down only as a last resort. “Even a broken leg can often be mended but some trainers see it as simply more cost effective to have it put down,” said a racing insider.
It is now apparent, however, that some veterinary practices also have a financial incentive to put dogs down without any medical reason.
The Greyhound Clinic is in an Essex hamlet which is in effect a “greyhound village”. The clinic’s immediate neighbours are the kennels of at least six NGRC-registered trainers, two greyhound retirement homes and a practice racetrack.
The undercover reporter called the clinic and spoke to Donna Atkins, the practice manager, saying he had two greyhounds he wanted putting down because he “had no room for them”.
The reporter asked if the clinic ever took blood from the dogs before killing them and Atkins said the Royal Veterinary College sent people once or twice a week to collect blood from dogs being put down, she said.
When the reporter called back, Atkins said: “We are going to take the glands as well. Is that okay?”
The reporter said it was, but emphasised that his dogs were not old and there was nothing wrong with them. “That’s fair enough; that’s not a problem,” said Atkins. “So it’s 10.15 tomorrow. Bye.”
When the reporter arrived the next day, two students from the RVC, who introduced themselves as Demi and Rick, were waiting. The reporter, who said his dogs would arrive shortly with his brother, explained there was “nothing wrong with them” but the students appeared uninterested. Asked why they wanted the dogs’s lymph glands, Demi said: “We take tissue from healthy dogs and we look at the cells and put them in an artificial environment and use that to further our research.”
The reporter left but not before paying Atkins £60 in advance to have the fictitious dogs put down. He was not asked to sign any forms and was at no time asked his name, phone number, address or any details as to why the dogs should be destroyed.
He also asked Atkins if the RVC was paying the clinic to take body parts. “No, no, we work in conjunction with them. We all work together from all over the place. It’s part of their learning,” she said.
John O’Connor, 65, head vet and director of the clinic, told the undercover reporter, who was now posing as an employee of a company wanting to procure canine organs, that he had an “exclusive” commercial contract with the RVC until November. After that he would review the situation and expected “at least £30 per canine part”.
When contacted later by The Sunday Times O’Connor initially denied a financial agreement with the RVC but subsequently admitted invoicing the college at £10 per dog and being paid.
He claimed that he had been paid a few hundred pounds since he began supplying the parts three years ago and that he intended to pay the money to charity.
O’Connor said he put down dogs only if they had medical problems or showed aggression and said he would not have euthanased the fictitious dogs.
An RVC spokesman confirmed it had an agreement with the clinic but said owners should be issued with a form “to indicate their acknowledgment” of their pets’ fate. “The decision to euthanase an animal must only be taken when both owner and vet agree and the owner has given written consent.”
The greyhound racing industry has begun an inquiry into allegations of bung-taking and race-fixing that have defrauded William Hill, the bookmaker, as well as potentially thousands of gamblers.
A Sunday Times investigation at Newcastle stadium – owned by William Hill – resulted in one of the track’s racing managers being suspended on Friday.
When confronted by a reporter he admitted channelling bogus payments through the bank account of Barry Clements, until recently a greyhound trainer at the track. The racing manager made the payments appear legitimate by drawing up fake invoices, which were apparently countersigned by other senior officials.
Clements admitted he then paid a monthly bung of £500-£600 in cash to the racing manager – who in return allegedly attempted to fix races by allocating favourable starting positions for another owner.
Clements also admitted that he separately fixed a race earlier this year by swapping a slower dog for a faster one. He said he and his colleagues won thousands of pounds by betting on the dog.
William Hill announced that it had begun a full investigation, as has the National Greyhound Racing Club, the sport’s governing body.
Until earlier this year Clements kept a kennel of about 40 of his own greyhounds, which raced at Newcastle. He said he was blowing the whistle on his involvement after becoming “totally ashamed” of his treatment of dozens of greyhounds in his care.
“As soon as one is hurt you are under pressure to get rid of it. I had 23 put down in 10 months up to May this year and none of them needed to be medically euthanased.”
Clements said he became involved in channelling the “bungs” last year. He said the racing manager would tell a former trainer, whose dogs raced covertly under Clements’s name, how much money he wanted each month.
The racing manager would then put through extra payments on top of Clements’s legitimate winnings. Clements then gave the racing manager the cash bung.
“I can’t be sure what benefit the former trainer got,” said Clements. “But I noticed that he was getting favourable trap positions for his dogs, though I didn’t.”
The Sunday Times has decided not to name the racing manager because of concerns for his safety. When confronted he initially denied the scam, but when told of documents showing he had authorised payments exceeding what Clements was entitled to, he admitted defrauding William Hill.
“I needed the money,” he said. He said he shared the money with Clements and denied that any races were fixed or that anyone else was involved. Clements denied taking any money. The stadium’s other racing manager, Ian Hillis, is not implicated in the scandal.
William Hill said the racing manager had been suspended. “We treat any allegations of impropriety seriously and a full investigation is under way.”
Attacks on Armadale Flapping Track, West Lothian - August 2006
Twice in recent months, Armadale greyhound track has been attacked and vandalised. There is also Speedway at Armadale and the target appears to have been targeted with the message that the stadium must stop greyhound racing from the track. ALF claimed responsibility for the first attack. The second attack has gone unclaimed.
*PLEASE NOTE - Greyhound Action Scotland DOES NOT condone violent or illegal acts in the fight to end greyhound racing*
Moet and Chandon champagne at £58 a bottle. Sweet cured salmon and lobster on the menu. Punters chewing cigars (the big fat variety) in executive boxes in an air-conditioned grandstand.
Welcome to the Derby - the Greyhound Derby, that is, which gets under way at Wimbledon's Plough Lane stadium tonight.
Canine stars such as Westmead Lord, Loyal Honcho and Dilemma's Flight will be in action before an expected 6,000 capacity crowd, and the winner will get a cheque for £100,000.
But behind the scenes? Now that's a different story altogether; one the dog racing industry would rather you didn't read about.
We're supposed to be a nation of animal lovers, after all. This "love", it seems, doesn't extend to greyhounds.
The elite - dogs like Westmead Lord, hot favourite for the derby - are the lucky few. At the end of their careers, they'll be put out to stud.
As for the rest - the majority - a short, miserable life will be followed by a brutal and needless death.
Most will suffer a fate similar to those buried in a "mass grave" next to David Smith's bungalow off a secluded farm track in County Durham.
The method of execution for those unfortunate animals was a bolt gun, a weapon that fires a metal bar with enough force to shatter the toughest skull.
Smith had been providing a £10-a-time canine killing service for sections of the greyhound racing industry for up to 15 years.
It's easier, and cheaper, to dispose of greyhounds whose careers are curtailed through age - or because they cannot run fast enough to make their owners money - than to re-home them.
It's the equivalent of putting down an Afghan Hound or Cocker Spaniel because their coats are no longer shiny enough to compete at shows like Crufts.
The true scale of the scandal came to light when Mr Smith was convicted of breaching Environment Agency regulations and fined £2,000 (with £2,000 costs) earlier this year.
It is illegal to bury dead greyhounds in your garden, but not to put a metal bolt through their heads.
Hundreds, possibly thousands of carcasses, still lie beneath neatly-planted rows of beans, rhubarb, leeks and onions on Mr Smith's land.
As a symbol of the cruelty inflicted on greyhounds all over Britain, it could not be more chilling.
At least a bolt gun is quick - and preferable to being battered to death, killed with rat poison or thrown into a river weighed down with bricks.
