Greyhound Racing Ireland’s new traceability scheme has been branded 'not fit for purpose'.
The organisation said it would track greyhounds from 12 weeks old until death after a major RTE investigation in 2019 found around 6,000 go missing every year.
But just two-and-a-half years into its operation, Greyhound Action Ireland say figures they obtained through Dail questions show the system is not working as promised.
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Under existing regulations, all non-coursing greyhounds have to be microchipped with the Irish Coursing Club at 12 weeks old.
This information is supposed to be immediately entered into the new traceability system, known as RCETS. Director of Regulation with Greyhound Racing Ireland, Pat Herbert told the Public Accounts Committee on November 10 "the information on greyhounds microchipped with the ICC is immediately entered on the traceability system".
GRI’s chair, Frank Nyhan told the same meeting "from the time when they’re microchipped, we can account for all greyhounds. That is the point of the whole system."
Some 11,047 non-coursing greyhounds were born across Ireland in 2022 according to figures obtained from Greyhound Action but 1,579 or 14 per cent of those microchipped are not on last year’s list.
Nuala Donlon from Greyhound Action Ireland said: "The discrepancy between the ICC figures and those contained on the RCETS clearly show that the greyhound board’s much-heralded traceability system is not fit for purpose.
"The absence of nearly 1,579 dogs from the traceability system is either the result of incompetence, or something more sinister is going on.
"Either way, how can we have confidence in the figures going forward, if the system has failed so miserably at the very first stage in the tracking process?"
The traceability system is understood to have cost €245,000 with an additional annual bill of €92,000 to maintain.
Greyhound Action said it also lacks transparency as only registered owners can access it to track dogs - with others having to go through the Dail to ask questions.
They are also concerned the dogs are not tracked from birth and that the international destination of exported dogs is not available despite Irish dogs being sent to countries like Spain, China and Pakistan where animal welfare laws do not meet Irish standards.
Greyhound Action Ireland is now calling on the Green Party to insist no further public funding is handed over to Rasaiocht Con Eireann until an independent monitoring system is in place.
They added: "The Irish greyhound board needs to be made answerable, finally, for the whereabouts of every single non-coursing greyhound born into this abusive industry. Nothing less is acceptable."
Greyhound Racing Ireland has been contacted for comment.
