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Marks and Spencer and Nestle Glamorize Cruel Sport - UPDATE
Spanish Dog Horror and Greyhound Race Protests

MARKS AND SPENCER AND NESTLE GLAMORIZE THE CRUEL INDUSTRY OF GREYHOUND RACING TO PROMOTE MENS FASHION ... AND CHOCOLATE - UPDATE ... RSPCA OF NO HELP

Marks and Spencer's Autumn 2003 menswear promotion featured pictures of male models at Greyhound meetings.
The high street shop's advertising campaign called "At The Dogs" showed male models posing in jackets, tops and T-shirts while greyhounds look sadly up at them. The clothes range also features a T-shirt of two racing greyhounds. To accompany their campaign Marks and Spencer are running a competition to win "a day at the races with five mates". Greyhound Action Scotland, along with other Greyhound rescue organisations are calling on the public to complain to Marks and Spencer and to remind the company of the inherent and increasing cruelty to animals within the racing industry.
The RSPCA appear to be a law unto themselves as their policies and non actions continue to ignore many fundamental misdemeanours relating to the welfare of animals.
Greyhound Action Scotland said that in a phonecall to Marks and Spencer he learned that their marketing department had spoken to the RSPCA. The RSPCA replied to Marks and Spencer that they have 'no issue' with their campaign as all they are doing is using advertising of a legal sport of which they feel there is 'NOTHING WRONG WITH'...
Greyhound Action Scotland say, "This is where we find the 'fence sitters' like the RSPCA are doing more damage - they KNOW what is wrong with the sport but sitting on the fence denying there is an issue causes more harm".

After continued pressure from Greyhound rescue organizations, Marks and Spencer have finally removed the offending promotion from their website and shop windows.

A Nestlé KitKat UK TV advert is filmed entirely at a dog track and gives misguided "facts" about the real-world fate of racing Greyhounds
Nestlé are famous for being on the "Evil List" of international companies, and have been repeatedly criticised and boycotted in a number of countries because of their violation of international codes. In 2003, a UK advert promoting a new KitKat product called Kubes iwas filmed at a Greyhound race stadium. The opening scene showing greyhounds racing round the track. The voiceover said that these dogs live for 12 years. The truth is that the average lifespan of the racing Greyhounds portrayed is around 18 months, since thousands are killed after their short time in the racing industry. The advert clearly ignores the factual situation of the dogs portrayed and gives viewers a distorted representation of the true fate of many racing Greyhounds.

For more information about the Greyhound racing industry read the Annette Crosbie Column here at Looking-Glass and VeggieGlobal.

Looking-Glass Says: It's astonishing that major players in consumer fashion like Marks and Spencer have shown such lack of consideration on a sensitive and controversial issue knowingly linked to severe animal cruelty. The ignorant advertising people who come up with such ideas and those in charge who agreed to the running of this sales campaign should all be severely reprimanded - Have they no sense of compassion?
In response to the complaints that were sent to Marks and Spencers, customer services ludicrously tried to justify themselves by pointing out that they are - quote, "proud of the fact that we won Compassion in World Farming's first annual "Compassionate Supermarket of the Year" award in 2002".
In which case, should they not even feel more ashamed of running such a promotion which glamorizes one of the most un-compassionate animal sports in the world?

For more information about the Greyhound racing industry read the Annette Crosbie Column here at Looking-Glass and VeggieGlobal.

For more information about animal cruelty in the fashion industry read "Think About Fur" here at Looking-Glass and VeggieGlobal

This article last updated or added to in: Jan 2004

EXCLUSIVE

SPANISH DOG HORROR - MASS GRAVE DISCOVERED
Go to VeggieGlobal's VoiceOver and send your protest letter now...

In 2002 a mass grave of slaughtered Calgos and former racing Greyhounds was recently been found in a small Spanish village. This finding has turned out to be just the tip of iceberg as similar atrocities involving dogs used for hunting and sports has sparked of a Europe-wide appeal by an animal welfare group in Belgium.

The Greyhound industry has become subject to increasing pressure by animal welfare groups across northern Europe. More stories are emerging of Greyhounds being brutally treated after their days are over as racers. Recent incidents include dogs being thrown from moving vehicles on motorways as owners attempt to discard their "spent money earners".
Calls to stop the mistreatment of dogs in the industry are also being made to the Irish President through demonstrations and silent vigils. In September 2003 President Mary McAleese drove past the Greyhound Action Ireland demo when she attended the Puppy Derby Final at Shelbourne Park. Greyhound Action intend to keep up the pressure until Ms McAleese finally responds.

Running for their lives
When no longer fit enough to keep up with the high demands of British and Irish dog racing many Irish bred Greyhounds eventually end up in Spain where they suffer the most appalling treatment. "Retired" Irish Greyhounds are bought by Spanish dog racers because are very cheap. Most are sold for between 20 and 30 euro (£13 to £20). They are then transported from Ireland and the UK to places like Barcelona, cramped in small cages without sufficient food or water during their 40 hour journey.
The Spanish then run the animals on second class race tracks and are kenneled in horrific conditions.
The Galgo Espagnol, as the greyhound breed is known in Spain, is also used for hare coursing and championships. At the end of their useful life, the Irish Greyhounds and Calgos are ritually abused and subsequently tortured to death by slow hanging. The length of their torture depends on how well they have performed. The worse their results, the longer the hanging.

In March 2002 pictures were published for the first time of the mass grave in Chueca, Spain. Eye witness reports collected at Chueca give clear testimony that this horrendous activity is extensive and ongoing. The photos show great numbers of recently slaughtered dogs along with older bones. Corpses in various stages of decay prove that this practice has been going on in that particular region over a long period.

Greyhounds in Nood are a rescue group in Belgium concerned with the cruel treatment of Greyhounds and Galgos. Yolande Van den Bogaert from the organization told LGVN, "We can compare the tradition of hanging Greyhounds and Galgo's to the tradition of the Corridas. The difference is that the Spanish are proud of the Corrida culture. Hanging dogs is another rural tradition, but the Spanish people are not necessarily proud of it". "It is inexcusable that such barbarism still continues to perpetrate itself in Spain today, a nation within the European Union", says Yolande.

Rising numbers of Greyhounds abandoned
Greyhound rescue centres in the UK are also struggling to cope with an increased number of abandoned and neglected dogs. Each year 10,000 dogs retire or leave the sport as some owners also abandon them if the dog is unsuccessful at winning races. While the UK rescue centres cope with the influx of retired and abandoned Greyhounds inside the country, the European organizations are being overwhelmed by the amount of rescued dogs from Spanish racing and coursing. These are the "retired" Greyhounds who have originally been taken from Ireland and the UK over to Spain.
Greyhounds in Nood have managed to re-home over 1000 of these rescued dogs and last year, along with many re-homed Greyhounds, the organization and its supporters walked silently to the Irish embassy and handed in a letter for Mary McAleese along with petitions. A year later she has still not responded.

VeggieGlobal recently launched a VoiceOver appeal on behalf of Greyhounds in Nood. You can send a letter of protest direct to José Maria Aznar, President of Spain as well as other European Government officials through VoiceOver.

Go to VeggieGlobal's VoiceOver and send your protest letter now

Find Greyhounds in Nood at: www.greyhounds.be

This article last updated or added to in: October2003

GREYHOUND RESCUE MENU
Marks and Spencer and Nestle Glamorize Cruel Sport - UPDATE
Spanish Dog Horror and Greyhound Race Protests

For more information about the Greyhound racing industry read the Annette Crosbie Column here at Looking-Glass and VeggieGlobal.

For more information about animal cruelty in the fashion industry read "Think About Fur" here at Looking-Glass and VeggieGlobal

For more "Animal News" articles please click here

For discussion on these issues see GGL's at VeggieGlobal.com

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