Kennel Hand Speaks Out as the 'Greyhound's Voice'

06.06.09

A kennel hand has spoken out in sheer frustration and has published his video diaries and photographs, cataloguing the appalling level of greyhound welfare deemed acceptable by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain.

The trainer’s refusal to accept his offers of help and the indifference shown to a series of complaints he made to officials, regarding breaches of Racing Rules, eventually broke his silence - ironically, exactly a year to the day when undercover footage was taken of the same kennels.

Video footage taken last year on May 27th 2008

Neil Haine, 40 from North Dorset, contacted Greyt Exploitations after the complaints he lodged with his Area Steward, Colin Betteridge, regarding greyhounds being kennelled in their own excrement and urine soaked beds for three days at a time and without any form of exercise - were ignored.

Please click to on the images to enlarge

Eve Blanchard, a professional trainer attached to Poole stadium, employed Mr Haine from November 2008 until his departure on May 26th, where he felt he could no longer endure the conditions suffered by the 36 greyhounds confined in the kennels.

Please click on images to enlarge

Mr Haine said "I asked Colin Betteridge to come and witness the disgusting conditions of the kennels I faced every Tuesday morning but when he arrived with a GBGB official, Noel Thompson, it was after 1pm and Colin would have known I finished at 1pm and the kennels would be clean. Regardless of me pleading with Colin to do ‘something’, he still insisted 'kennels only need to be cleaned when deemed necessary' - even if it meant breaking the rules"

"Earlier, in an effort to try and reduce Mrs Blanchard's kennel to a more manageable size, I spoke to a trainer Mrs Blanchard trusted, about her reluctance to re-home her retired dogs.  Although it confirmed rumours, I was still shocked when the trainer told me 'just give them sleeping tablets, 2 should do the job' and then bury them in her garden with the other 17 greyhounds"

Mr Haine continued "The more I tried to help, the more abusive and obstructive Mrs Blanchard became. She stopped me cleaning the kennels, voluntarily, from Saturday lunchtime until the following Tuesday morning and even stopped me from exercising them, racing or retired. It was heartbreaking going into work on Tuesday mornings, seeing the filth the dogs had been locked up in all weekend. The squalor and the stench never failed to bring tears  to my eyes and a lump in my throat"

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"Mrs Blanchard refused to pay for the costly disposal of the old bedding and dog dirt and getting rid of it became a problem and so the amount of waste had to be reduced. When I refused to just add a handful of clean bedding on top of the wet bedding, she then told me there was no more bedding and if I didn't do as I was told, the dogs would have to sleep on bare boards. This was the final straw and with my wife's support I knew we had to get help and quickly!"

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In a heartfelt plea, Sue Haine added “You all need to stand united against this despicable treatment of these beautiful creatures. The GBGB are killing the sport by ignoring this terrible abuse. Please be a voice for the greyhounds!!

Mrs Blanchard's kennels were under the spotlight earlier this year when the  undercover video of the kennels, taken in May 2008, was posted on the internet and as a consequence the RSPCA were called in.

In January, Inspector Ken Snook ordered a number of major structural improvements to be made. However, we spoke to Mr Snook on Monday last and he confirmed he had not been back to ensure those improvements had been carried out, preferring to phone the Greyhound Board of Great Britain and seek assurances from the very racing officials who had earlier dismissed the kennel hands concerns.

Please click here to read Mr Haines' full and frank statement 

http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq1/Greytexploitations/Dorset%20Kennels/Dorsetkennelsstatement.jpg

This graphic video - taken on 19th May 2009 - depicts the filth and squalor racing officials chose to ignore.

It also conveys the outrage and despair felt by Neil Haine, after he had exhausted every official channel  to stop this dreadful abuse and neglect of these passive and gentle dogs.