La nostra lettera al Ministro Irlandese contro la crudele pratica della Inseminazione chirurgica nei greyhound

Il Ministro irlandese dell’Agricoltura, dell’Alimentazione e della Marina, Charlie McConalogue T.D, ha aperto una consultazione pubblica sull’opportunità di vietare l’inseminazione artificiale chirurgica nei levrieri.

Noi come Pet levrieri abbiamo già inviato una lettera ufficiale richiedendo di includere anche i greyhound (al momento esclusi perchè considerati “Farm animal”, animali da fattoria merci) nella norma che vieta questa pratica che è dolorosa e altamente invasiva sui cani.

The Honorable
Charlie McConalogue T.D,
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

To: animalwelfareconsultation@agriculture.gov.ie

Milan, 11th July 2024

Subject: the surgical artificial insemination of greyhounds

Honorable Minister,

As an anti racing and anti hunting charity, founded by a group of people who, after adopting rescued greyhounds, decided to take that first act of love even further by campaigning to build a future without greyhound racing and hunting with greyhounds, in Europe and in the world, we strongly believe that the Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI) should include greyhounds in its ban of surgical artificial insemination in all other dog breeds (announced in April 2024) for the following reasons:

1. Surgical artificial insemination involves putting the female greyhound under general anesthetic, making an incision in the abdomen and injecting the uterus with semen. This is highly invasive and indeed unnecessary, as there are other, safer options available.
2. The resulting pregnancy would put pressure and pain on the healing surgical wound, especially since greyhound litters can be very large in number – and greyhound breeders in Ireland are allowed 8 litters per female greyhound.
3. Greyhounds are known to be very sensitive to anaesthetic, so they should only be operated on when it is in their best interests.
4. Surgical artificial insemination is already banned in the UK, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands because it is unnecessary and unethical, as it is highly invasive and often very painful for dogs.
5. The VCI itself has in April 2024 already updated its Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinary Practitioners to prohibit vets from carrying out surgical artificial insemination in dogs due to ethical and welfare considerations. It is therefore entirely unacceptable as well as nonsensical that this new prohibition does not apply to greyhounds – simply because it is a practice already included in the Greyhound Regulations of 2005.
6. Greyhounds are dogs too – already lacking in the protection of animal welfare laws due to being classified in Ireland as ‘agricultural goods’ used for betting instead of pets. The inclusion of greyhounds in the VCI’s ban of surgical artificial insemination in dogs would at least eliminate one of the many cruelties practiced against these dogs in the interests of the industry.

Yours sincerely,

Stefania Traini

President of Pet levrieri

Nostra lettera: Ban the surgical artificial insemination of greyhounds