However, unless something is done to get to the root of the problem, thousands of these dogs will continue to be abandoned, cruelly-treated and put to death, year after year, ad infinitum.

With greyhounds, the problem is, almost entirely, the dog racing industry.

Our research indicates that about 20,000 greyhounds are put to death every year because of commercial dog racing in Britain.

The solution is to put an end to the greyhound racing industry, which is why we are calling on the public not to attend or bet on greyhound races, so the industry fades away through lack of financial support.

With lurchers, the problem lies with the use of these dogs for hunting other animals. That is the reason most of them are bred and then subsequently abandoned or put to death, when they prove to be no longer suitable for the purpose.

This is why we are calling on the government to stenghthen the law against hunting with dogs and to make sure it is stringently enforced with much harsher penalties for offenders, so as to provide an adequate deterrent to the breeding of lurchers for hunting.

For more information and to learn how you can help our campaign to protect greyhounds and lurchers, see our website at http://www.greyhoundaction.org.uk or call us on 01562 700 043.

Tony Peters, UK Co-ordinator, Greyhound Action