Teesside Greyhound Trainer To Face Charges
Published on May 7, 2010 by Jennifer White · 2 CommentsDogs’ welfare put at risk – Allegation. A Teesside greyhound trainer is to appear before a racing industry disciplinary committee to face allegations that he put the welfare of his dogs at risk.
Ronald Paterson, who trains racing dogs at Aislaby Road, near Eaglescliffe, has been charged by The Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) with failure to provide overnight supervision for his greyhounds, failure to obtain planning consent for his kennels, and leaving eight dogs without proper shelter.
A fourth charge alleges that he provided false documents to conceal the criminal convictions of one of his employees, to enable the man to obtain a kennelhand’s licence.
Paterson, who races greyhounds at Sunderland Stadium, could be barred from the tracks if convicted of the charges at an official hearing, which is to take place at the GBGB’s London offices on June 8th.
The allegations follow complaints by local residents and investigations by GBGB officials and greyhound protection organisation Greyhound Action.
Tony Peters, Greyhound Action’s UK coordinator, said: “We are delighted and very pleasantly surprised that these charges have been brought against Mr Paterson.
“After receiving information from local residents, we carried out our own investigation at his kennels.
“Our investigator confirmed that Paterson was providing no overnight supervision for the greyhounds, a serious breach of GBGB regulations, which local residents claim has been going on for the past four years.
“Greyhounds were being housed in overcrowded conditions, with two in kennels meant for one, which was causing frequent fights between the dogs, often resulting in injury.
“Some greyhounds were being kept in outside pens at night in freezing weather and a large number of the 60 dogs there went missing towards the end of last year, leading to speculation that they had been “put down” due to being no longer good enough for racing.
“Paterson had already received warnings from the GBGB for failure to provide overnight supervision and he was in serious breach of their rules two years ago for operating his kennels without planning permission.
“The GBGB rules are designed to prevent greyhounds from suffering, by ensuring they are housed in adequate accommodation and are safe from accident or intruders.
“Sadly, however, these rules are mainly a public relations exercise and are, to a large extent, meaningless, because they are rarely properly enforced.
“The GBGB are prepared to allow widespread breaches of regulations, because their main priority is the well being of the racing industry, rather than the welfare of the dogs.
“In this case, however, they have obviously been forced to take action by the level of public concern and the widespread knowledge of Paterson’s flagrant abuse of their rulebook.
“We now hope this case will be brought to a satisfactory conclusion and that he will be banned from racing.
“We feel it is deplorable that Sunderland Stadium has allowed Paterson to race greyhounds there in view of his scant regard for the welfare of his dogs.
“This lack of concern for greyhound protection regulations comes as no surprise to us in a situation where the racing industry already causes thousands of greyhounds to be put to death each year.
“Latest research indicates that over 12,000 greyhounds, bred for racing on British tracks, are “put down” annually, if they turn out to be unsuitable for racing or when their “careers” on the tracks come to an end.
“This wholesale slaughter and ill treatment of greyhounds has led us to call on the public not to attend or bet on greyhound races, so this appalling death-industry fades away through lack of financial support.”
Tony Peters
For more information, contact Tony Peters on 01562 700 043 or 07703 558724. See also the Greyhound Action website at www.greyhoundaction.org.uk
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I am very pleased that this “trainer” is called to order. I do hope that is is banned from having greyhounds in his care since he is incapabel of taking care of them. Neglecting them to an extend as mentioned above. I am concerned because it dosen´t happen often enough. It is a step in the right direction and I strongly urge the GBGB to come down on this “trainer” like a ton of bricks for the sake of the greyhounds. Most sincerly Lisbeth Mønsted Larsen Greyhound Action Denmark.
On reading the above many people might be astonished to learn that on March 23 this year the Greyhound Board of Great Britain obtained UKAS accreditation. Perhaps UKAS standards mirror those found within the racing industry.