• Examine and restructure Bord na gCon. In 2007, Bord na gCon received €14.5 million in state funding. Much of the state subvention is spent on refurbishing stadia – such as in Limerick and Kilkenny. The private sector is making massive profits on the greyhound industry and must be expected to invest in basic infrastructure. The duty of Bord na gCon should be to ensure that owners and trainers adhere to welfare laws. In 2006 it failed to make public when two dogs tested positive for Erythropoietin. When the CEO at the time – Aiden Tynan – wrote to the then Minister for Sport, John O’Donoghue, outlining his concern with the situation; he was subsequently removed from his position by the board. Mr Tynan felt he was sacked as a result of sending the letter to the Minister. This indicates an unhealthy culture of cronyism and animals will suffer as a result. Furthermore, a 2008 report by the Comptroller and Auditor General found some irregularities in the board’s accounts. This must be investigated immediately. The orientation of this investigation should not be to “maximise the commercial income of the Bord” (as the Minister called for in 2013) but for the welfare of the animals involved.
  • Ban fur farming. Fur farming of all species (mink, fox etc.)  is cruel and unnecessary in the current age. Confined to small cages, animals reared for fur often express stereotypic behaviour – a clear sign of distress. Fur farming has been banned or phased out in most EU Member States.
  • End badger culling by traps, snares and shooting. There are perfectly adequate alternative measures to minimise the spread of bovine tuberculosis, such as oral vaccination. Culling is completely unnecessary as badgers do not pose a serious threat of infection, as was proved in a report by Defra in 2011.
  • Ban all non-medical animal experiments. These are unnecessarily cruel and must cease immediately.