Re SIS deal greyhounds in Central America

Oh great! Countries that can’t even feed themselves let alone have any animal welfare standards!!!

Absolute disgrace! Is this where Ireland will be exporting dogs next ….. !!!!?????

Susan Day

 

This is the kind of attitude that really has me shaking my head in disbelief.

1) Which people, exactly, cannot feed themselves? Would that be Brazil, Argentina, Mexico? I don’t know whether your ignorance excels your arrogance.

2) Assuming we are not so superior that we can dictate to the apparently stupid poorer Latin American people not to gamble, is it not best that would bet on a foreign product that rather than breed their own greyhounds or horses, which apparently they cannot afford to feed?

3) As we have repeatedly pointed out on this site, no matter how strenuously a regulatory board may want to enforce the rules, an export ban can ONLY be state led. If I decided to buy 30 dogs at the next Thurles Sale and take them to China, all the IGB and GBGB could do was ban me. Big deal! And that is always assuming that I used the correct name and address. There are some really naughty people out there who might fib!

4) Finally – I find this whole ‘anti’ attitude to ‘brown or yellow’ people absolutely appalling. I an NOT ACCUSING YOU IN ANY WAY of being racist or xenophobic, I don’t know you. But I have seen many many comments from ‘antis’ claiming that greyhounds should not be sent to places like Pakistan.

Yet there is an enthusiastic and caring Pakistani greyhound community in Britain. I have many Pakistani Facebook Friends who proudly show photographs of greyhounds in absolutely peak condition. Some have been driven to coursing meetings in air conditioned 4 x 4s, others are held by barefoot smiling owners.

There is nothing special about Britain’s pet owners of all types. You might want to label all greyhound people as being cruel heartless individuals, but as I said, there is no accounting for small minded ignorance.

Ed

Re: Open Race Time Check

The problem with your results is that less than 1% of the dogs do the nearly all the quick times.  Most times are done in major competitions.  

If you were to take out the top THREE DOGS at each track, you would find that  they would probably remove ALL of the Top 10% of the fastest times. This would mean that 99% of the other Open Race Dogs get nowhere near your 10% figure.

Paul Denman

 

Actually Paul, not according to the figures, particularly on the well used distances.

So, I accept that if a track rarely uses a distance, that might be the case. A good example is the first distance on the chart, the 260 metre course at Belle Vue, primarily used for the Scurry, but with very few additional sprint opens.

The sample figure was 39. If your round that up to four, as your 10% figure, they are shared two each between Roxholme Hat and Trapstyle Jet. That surely doesn’t alter the fact though that to win a Scurry, you would expect to have to be capable of winning 90% of the opens? The fact that that time is 14.89 can only be achieved by two hounds is irrelevant in my opinion.

But if we then look at the Derby trip, the Nottingham 500 metres, the sample is 408 runners. So although, to back up your point, Droopys Expert and Dorotas Wildcat have four of the five fastest time between them, we are looking at 41 performances of 29.59 or better and that is shared between 29 different dogs.

Ed

Good ideas will travel

Just so you know following the Star story re the retirement certs I have had requests from Ireland, Belgium, Germany and Canada requesting a copy to use – I have sent them it in word format so they can add their own logo/details – but thought you may be happy to hear how far afield it has been read.

Kim Sanzone (GBGB Ambassador)