Upon discovery of his actions Smith agreed to stop killing dogs. Amazingly, he claims his actions and motivations were "humane." The more likely case is a profit motive:

Smith charges owners and trainers £10 to kill unwanted dogs, many only a few years old. One trainer, who asked not to be named, said: “This man kills dogs for 40 licensed trainers and there are at least 10,000 dogs in his field. People in the industry have been going to him for years. Many of the bigwigs knew it was going on.”

Government and greyhound racing officials aren't pleased:

Ben Bradshaw, minister for animal welfare, said Smith’s business was “horrendous” and promised an inquiry into the slaughter and potential health and environmental hazard of such a large-scale dumping of dogs’ bodies. Alistair McLean, chief executive of the National Greyhound Racing Club, which governs the sport, described it as a “euthanasia factory” and promised an inquiry. “This is disgraceful. We categorically don’t endorse this kind of thing,” he said.

A statement by the The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty against Animals (RCPCA) suggests that the David Smith is not the only one engaged in this gruesome work:

The RSPCA has previously expressed “grave concerns” about the fate of up to 12,000 retired greyhounds that go missing every year. A spokesman said: “There is no justification for killing these animals simply because they can’t do their job any more.” ... . A new code of practice proposed under the animal welfare bill would restrict the killing of greyhounds to vets using “humane” lethal injections.

While government regulations may be helpful in preventing the slaughter of dogs by bolt-gun, it still means that retired dogs are being put down. What the RSPCA might also consider is supporting a voluntary or more market-based means like the adopt-a-greyhound program in the US.

File Under: Animal Rights | Business Ethics |