{"id":253483,"date":"2026-01-20T02:00:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T02:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/253483\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T02:00:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T02:00:07","slug":"third-level-course-sponsored-by-greyhound-racing-ireland-branded-as-cynical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/253483\/","title":{"rendered":"Third-level course sponsored by Greyhound Racing Ireland branded as ‘cynical’\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Campaigners have branded a move to launch accredited courses in collaboration with Greyhound Racing Ireland (GRI) as a \u201ccynical attempt\u201d to distract from serious animal welfare issues<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) has signed a memorandum of understanding with GRI which will see them work together to launch two new programmes.<\/p>\n

The development forms part of GRI\u2019s five-year strategy<\/a>, published last summer, which committed to introducing education and outreach programmes.<\/p>\n

The greyhound racing industry has faced increased scrutiny in recent years after a series of documented animal welfare issues<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nuala Donlon of Greyhound Action Ireland described the launch of the new courses at TUS as a \u201ccynical attempt by the greyhound board to pretend it cares about welfare in the industry\u201d.<\/p>\n

She called on TUS to clarify why it has aligned itself with such a \u201ctoxic\u201d activity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so out of step with how the public opinion on greyhound racing is going,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n Once again taxpayer money will be used to try and paper over the cracks of an industry that has cruelty and mass killing endemic to it.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n

The technological university said the courses have been \u201cdesigned to advance education, professional standards and animal welfare across Ireland\u2019s greyhound industry\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fees for the 15-week Certificate in Greyhound Welfare & Husbandry Level 6 course total \u20ac1,000, with GRI to cover 75% of applicants\u2019 fees.<\/p>\n

The course, aimed at people already working in the greyhound industry, is \u201cdesigned to build welfare and husbandry knowledge\u201d. TUS has also launched a special purpose award in greyhound health, injuries & drug analysis, with further information on the course expected soon.<\/p>\n

Ms Donlon said an analysis of Greyhound Racing Ireland\u2019s traceability system shows that of the 12,483 dogs born in 2021, 5,118 are dead or unaccounted for.<\/p>\n

She added that in 2024, 5% of all dogs put out to race on greyhound tracks were dead before the end of the race, or soon after. The figures for the first eight months of 2025 show a similar trend, she added.<\/p>\n

However, these figures were not acknowledged by the GRI when queried by the Irish Examiner.<\/p>\n

It cited a recent letter to the editor sent by its chief executive Tim Lucey<\/a> in which he said verified figures, from January to June last year, showed more than 1,000 track and kennel inspections conducted, with a compliance rate of 95.2% fully compliant.<\/p>\n

In terms of testing and sample compliance, 3,827 samples were taken, with a rate of 99.3% compliance with regulatory standards.<\/p>\n

A spokeswoman for GRI said the course forms part of its five-year strategy, which has been fully signed off by the Department of Agriculture.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis educational initiative demonstrates a shared commitment to education, professional development, and the ongoing improvement of standards within the industry,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBy offering fully accredited courses through TUS, we are creating pathways for skills development, innovation, and career opportunities for individuals working within the sector.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jess Casey, Education Correspondent<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Campaigners have branded a move to launch accredited courses in collaboration with Greyhound Racing Ireland (GRI) as a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253484,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[16591,835,14376,61,60,43],"class_list":["post-253483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-animal-cruelty","tag-education","tag-greyhound-racing","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253483\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}