 One the greyhounds being transported to Spain |
Several people are to be prosecuted after animal welfare officers found dozens of greyhounds being transported in terrible conditions between the Republic of Ireland and Spain. A total of 36 animals were discovered in cramped conditions without sufficient food or water for their 38-hour journey to Barcelona last month.
On Monday, Alastair Keen of the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals told BBC Radio Ulster the prosecutions were the result of a six-month joint investigation with Spanish police and the RSPCA.
"It's a long drawn out process. We've known this has been going on for a number of years - we've just managed to prove it," he said.
After the animals left Ireland, RSPCA officers trailed the van carrying them from Roscoff in France to Barcelona.
The dogs were placed in 20 cages and travelled for 18 hours on a ferry and a total of 20 hours by road, only stopping for a water break once.
Hidden from view by a thick tarpaulin, only four of the dogs were taken out during a stop in France to be exercised, leaving the other 32 caged for the entire 750-mile trip.
Temperatures during the journey reached in excess of 40C.
 |  When I was with the RSPCA, I investigated the death of these greyhounds - sometimes by hanging in the olive groves around the tracks  |
The size of the cages meant that the majority of dogs could not stand to their natural height, and as many shared a cage it also meant that dogs were unable to sit or lie down at the same time, the ISPCA and RSPCA said. Mr Keen said buying greyhounds in Ireland is popular among Spanish dog racers because are very cheap, with most being sold for between 20 and 30 euro.
He said after the animals were bought they were transported to Spain where they would be kept in "terrible conditions" and raced three times a week until they came to the end of their useful life, when they were normally killed.
"I myself, when I was with the RSPCA, investigated the death of these greyhounds - sometimes by hanging in the olive groves around the tracks," he said.
He said current legislation meant there was little protection for greyhounds when they are being transported and called for it to be changed.
"Unfortunately companion animals such as dogs and cats do not get the same protection as do food animals like cattle, pigs and sheep. Dogs and cats only have to be watered every 12 hours and the maximum journey time in 24.
"The other problem we have is that the ferry companies class these animals as freight, not livestock so these animals can be on the car decks for up to 18 hours to France without anybody checking them or giving them water," he said.
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