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Greyhound vet case prompts Unite to call for revamp of governing body's procedures

5 December 2011

Britain's greyhound governing body should revamp its security and personnel procedures, after a vet was alleged to have failed to prevent a custard cream biscuit being put into a greyhound's kennel.

The vet, who does not wish to be named, was cleared by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Disciplinary Committee of any wrong doing at Nottingham Greyhound Stadium in October, 2009. He was the duty veterinary surgeon at the race meeting.

But Unite, the country's largest union which represented the vet, said that the case should never have been brought in the first place and the behaviour of the sport's governing body, the Greyhound Board of Great Britain was 'lamentable and incompetent'.

The case revolves around the remains of the biscuit which was found in the kennel of the greyhound, named Strangely Black, by its trainer. Dogs are not meant to drink or have anything to eat for three-to-four hours before they race. Once the biscuit was discovered, the greyhound was withdrawn from the race.

The offending biscuit was later destroyed by the GBGB before it could be forensically examined by the GBGB authorities – but this did not stop the RCVS instituting disciplinary proceedings.

Unite national officer, Rachael Maskell said: 'The vet's reputation has been grievously tarnished and he has lost his livelihood as a result of lamentable incompetence of the GBGB, which should have never pursued this case for which there was no evidence of any wrong doing by our member.'

'It is clear that the GBGB needs to revamp its security and personnel procedures and not put a highly-regarded professional through this hell, especially as the alleged evidence, the biscuit, was destroyed by the GBGB and the CCTV coverage of the course was unable to identity how the biscuit came to be in the kennel.'

'What makes this case even stranger was the prize money at stake in the race that Strangely Black was due to run in was a very modest £100.'



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