SKY News and the Daily Telegraph are expected to launch stories tomorrow concerning the former racing kennels of trainer Tony Taylor.

As reported previously, Taylor departed his former kennel at Clondon near Guildford when owner Robert Brinkley announced plans to sell the property. He returned to the Keston kennels in Kent.

Within the last month, Taylor’s former neighbours, at Sunvalley Kennels (Celia Cross), with whom he had ongoing disputes, have been circulating pictures of his old kennel showing them to be virtually derelict and entirely unfit to keep animals.

SKY have apparently contacted Taylor, who is currently on holiday, for his response.

In the meantime, Mark Bird, Managing Director of GBGB has issued the following communication in relation to the story.

“As the regulator for licensed greyhound racing, we demand the highest standards of welfare from everyone involved in our sport.  We have very strict guidelines on how dogs should be treated and what conditions they should be housed in.   We conduct a minimum of two unannounced visits to residential kennels each year and are prepared to take the strongest action when we find that conditions are not up to standard.  This includes suspending trainers with immediate effect.

“Since the launch of our Greyhound Commitment earlier this year, we have adopted an even more robust approach and are currently developing a new Code of Practice which sets out our clear expectations of how residential kennels should be run.  We are also in the process of gaining UKAS accreditation which will cover trainers’ kennels and ensure they are held to the same consistent high standards of our tracks.

For background:

  • GBGB stipendiary stewards visited Hillside Kennels regularly and identified measures to be taken to improve conditions.
  • Once it was clear that the kennels needed significant structural work to make them suitable for long term use, Mr Taylor decided to build new kennels on a different site.
  • Until the new kennels were ready, conditions at Hillside Kennels were monitored closely and immediate measures were put in place to ensure the wellbeing of the greyhounds.
  • Some of the photos being circulated are of kennels which have not housed racing greyhounds for over three years and have obviously fallen into disrepair.
  • GBGB stewards are visiting Mr Taylor’s kennels every two weeks to monitor conditions and ensure every single greyhound is being looked after and is comfortable.