Following the recent advertising of Gougane Jet (Reggie) for stud in China, it seems very likely that Reggie is there. All of us at the MWD Partnership including Mark, Michelle, Mike, our families and kennel staff are saddened and very upset that he appears to have been exported despite all the efforts we made to prevent this happening. It is not fair on Reggie and certainly not something we would ever want for any of the greyhounds in our care.

In August 2023, we found out that the owners of Reggie, led by Eammon Johnston together with Steve Oliver and Alan (Pete) Curtis, had accepted an offer of £30,000 for him to go to Ireland and be raced there. We tried numerous times to convince the owners that the offer was too good to be true as £30,000 for a 3 year old sprinter was far in excess of his market value, particularly going to race in Ireland. We warned the owners constantly that it was very likely that Reggie would be exported as this type of behaviour is the modus operandi of unscrupulous operators wishing to export greyhounds to countries that do not have the same welfare standards as the UK.

In the months previous to this, we had offered the owners £20,000 to purchase Reggie. This was refused as they did not want to sell him to us. They made it clear at that time that no offer we could ever make would convince them to sell Reggie to us.

We urged the owners several times to carry out proper due diligence on the potential buyer and obtain assurances that Reggie would not be exported. All the time, Eammon told us that he and the other owners were happy that the buyer was bona fide and Reggie was going to Ireland to race. The owners did not carry out proper due diligence to positively verify the identity of the buyer or get recommendations or references to their identity or history with greyhound racing.

We asked for details of the buyer but the owners were evasive and vague. Just before Reggie left the kennel in September 2023 and after constant requests from us, we were informed by Eammon Johnston that the new owners name was Liam O’Brien with an address of Ballymahon Road, Longford and a telephone number of 0894246915. We attempted to complete our own due diligence having received this information and tried several times to contact this Liam O’Brien leaving messages and voicemails. No return messages or calls were received and no contact was ever made. We asked our own contacts in Ireland and no-one had ever heard of him.

Eammon informed us that Reggie would be travelling with the greyhound transporter, Michael Flynn, to the kennels of a trainer, Keith Powell, where he would be trained to run in races in Ireland. Eammon obtained good feedback about Keith Powell from his contacts in Ireland and so he was happy for Reggie to go there.

In the weeks leading up to Reggie leaving the kennel, Eammon arranged for Michael Flynn to pick up £30,000 in cash from the buyer in Ireland and bring it to the UK. We again told Eammon that this was ringing alarm bells as there was no traceability of the payment or any audit trail and it again indicated the way that unscrupulous parties would operate.

We wrote to the GBGB when we found out about the owners accepting the £30,000 offer, outlining the entire situation and our concerns. We were specific in asking whether we had to let Reggie go out of the kennel when we were aware that proper due diligence hadn’t been satisfied. The GBGB responded to ask that we did not release the dog until they were satisfied that the export of this greyhound was to their satisfaction.

Two days before Reggie was due to leave the kennel, we again asked the GBGB whether we should allow Reggie to leave as we had been reminded by the owners that they had authority to decide what happened to Reggie as they owned him and we only had a contract to train and keep him. The owners were constantly saying that they were happy with where Reggie was going and it was down to them to decide what was happening to him.

The GBGB response was to inform us to allow Reggie to leave as there was no direct evidence that he was going anywhere other than Ireland and they would work with the GRI to get him tracked once he arrived at Keith Powell’s kennels in Ireland.

We pleaded with the owners one last time to reconsider sending Reggie away, presenting all of the facts and saying that it all pointed towards something underhand as the due diligence hadn’t been carried out effectively. They were adamant that they were happy with the arrangements and Reggie was being transported on 4 October 2023.

Reggie was collected on 4 October 2023 by Michael Flynn and that was the last time we saw him.

Subsequently it transpired that someone contacted Michael Flynn en-route to the kennels of Keith Powell and arranged to take Reggie off the transporter before being delivered, effectively intercepting the delivery.

Reggie hasn’t been seen since and Liam O’Brien (if that is his real name) is not contactable. Eammon, Steve and Pete have maintained their position that they sold Reggie in good faith and since the arrival in Ireland haven’t heard anything from Liam O’Brien.

We believe that the owners could and should have done more to protect the integrity of greyhound racing by completing proper due diligence on the buyer and considering the welfare of Reggie above any quick profit. We have documented all aspects of the circumstances surrounding this sorry episode and will co-operate with any inquiry that the GBGB or GRI hold to establish rule or welfare breaches.

We completely deplore the exportation of greyhounds to any country with poor welfare records like China. There is no place in our sport for anyone who is involved in this practice and everyone needs to be vigilant to the unscrupulous methods of people who instigate it. This starts with the owners who have responsibility for the decisions relating to the welfare of their greyhounds.

MWD Partnership