Racing: '10,000' greyhounds shot and buried in Britain

LONDON - The greyhound industry is facing two inquiries into welfare in dog racing after allegations that a builders' merchant has killed and buried 10,000 animals at his home.

The Government and an all-party committee of MPs expressed alarm at the claims and promised to investigate reports that thousands of healthy greyhounds are being killed each year at secret dog abattoirs.

The concerns follow revelations that a builders' merchant has offered a service to kill healthy racing dogs that are no longer needed by trainers and bury them in a one-acre plot of land at the rear of his home in Seaham, County Durham.

It is estimated that up to 12,000 "retired" greyhounds go missing in Britain each year.

The Sunday Times, which filmed two greyhounds before and after they were killed at the home of David Smith in return for a fee of £10 ($29) per dog, said it believed that at least 10,000 dogs had died at the property over 15 years.

Mr Smith confirmed to the Sunday Times that he did put down dogs using a bolt gun but said he was doing it for "humane" reasons.

He said he gave the proceeds from the trade to charity and had now decided to stop the business.

The newspaper alleged that the builders' merchant met trainers at the gate of his home six days a week, killed the dogs in an outhouse and then buried them on his land in pits dug with a mechanical digger. He told an undercover reporter he filled the field every three years.

His business is not illegal. Since 1997, anyone can own a bolt gun to kill animals but anyone failing to dispatch animals humanely or dispose of their remains appropriately can be prosecuted.

- INDEPENDENT