15 Tracks
There are currently fifteen licensed dog tracks in the Emerald Isle. As of the end of 2015, there were 3,351 greyhounds in the pool of racing dogs.1
From 2015 through 2023, 3,041 greyhounds suffered injuries and 1,125 greyhounds were killed at Irish tracks. 2 And in the first six months of 2024, deaths at Irish dog tracks increased by 60% to 96 hounds.3
On June 26, 2019, RTÉ News aired a program entitled RTÉ Investigates: Greyhounds Running For Their Lives. The exposé revealed that nearly 6,000 Irish greyhounds are killed each year.4 In addition, according to a Greyhound Racing Ireland-commissioned report that was completed in 2017, the Irish greyhound industry breeds 1,000 per cent more puppies than it needs to conduct racing.5 The program also highlighted the merciless killing of unwanted dogs at Irish knackeries, the drugging of greyhounds to fix races, and the terrible injuries and deaths they suffer at tracks each year.6 GRI's own figures reveal that the industry is still overbreeding and killing thousands of hounds five years after the RTÉ investigation first aired.7
A greyhound at an Irish kennel in Donegal. (Burma Kennels)
A greyhound falls while racing at Curraheen Park. (Curraheen Park)
A greyhound with her puppies at a breeding kennel in Ireland. (Jaxx Greyhound Kennel)
Caged dogs at a greyhound kennel in Ireland. (Greyhound-Data)
Puppies bred for racing in Ireland. (Greyhound-Data)
Emily the greyhound was a former racer found abused and abandoned. (The Irish Sun)
Protesters against greyhound racing at the Curraheen track in Ireland. (Ban Blood Sports)
A caged dog from the RTÉ exposé Greyhounds Running for Their Lives. (RTÉ News)
Protests against dog racing following the 2019 RTÉ investigation. (Emma O'Brien)
The majority of greyhounds racing in Ireland are bred in the country. In 2023, there were 1,691 litters registered in the Irish Greyhound Stud Book, a decrease of 44% since 2010.8
Irish greyhound breeders receive government funding through the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund. Between 2001 through 2024 more than €300 million will have been paid out to GRI from this Fund.9 Despite an €18.2 million subsidy for 2023, profits for Greyhound Racing Ireland fell 77% from the year prior.10
Dog racing is regulated and promoted by Greyhound Racing Ireland, a semi-state commercial body. GRI has Racing Regulations that include rules for betting and prize money, doping policies and requirements for racing officials.11 Additionally, the Irish government passed the Welfare of Greyhounds Act in 2011 that sets standards for certain greyhound breeding operations and general welfare requirements for housing, transport and record keeping.12
In 2023 the turnover, or amount bet by gamblers, at GRI-licensed tracks was €22 million.13 Since 2016, the turnover has declined by 22%.14
Irish Report
Rewarding Cruelty: Greyhound Racing in Ireland
(November 2019)
Learn about the cruelty and corruption of dog racing in the Emerald Isle in our groundbreaking report.
You may read this report online or for a donation of $10, we will send an official copy right to you.
Stay up to date and learn how you can help.