Dogs Trust Ireland is calling for greyhound racing to come to an end, to put a stop to what they say is the "unnecessary and completely preventable deaths of hundreds of dogs".
The charity has worked with the greyhound racing industry for a number of years as part of the International Greyhound Forum, and note that improvements have been made in that time.
However, they say that there are still "significant welfare issues for racing greyhounds which have not been resolved."
A statement from the organisation claims that greyhound racing is "inherently dangerous" for the animals involved, with many suffering injuries.
Statistics from Greyhound Racing Ireland (GRI) show that 2,146 greyhounds suffered injuries and 715 greyhounds were killed at Irish tracks, between 2015 and 2020, Dogs Trust say.
In 2021, 154 greyhounds died and a further 197 dogs were injured as a result of licensed greyhound racing in Ireland.
The charity still has serious concerns about the number of dogs who fall outside the scope of the new traceability system introduced by the GRI and are unaccounted for before and after their racing career.
Dogs Trust Ireland is calling on a phased end to allow the racing industry and animal welfare organisations to carefully prepare and coordinate an action plan for the many dogs who will be affected.
The charity estimates that this could be feasible within a five-year period.
Suzie Carley, Executive Director at Dogs Trust Ireland explains: "The welfare of greyhounds has always been our priority. We’ve worked closely with the greyhound industry for many years to try to improve welfare conditions for the dogs, but progress has not been made quickly enough, or on a big enough scale.
"It is simply not acceptable that 869 greyhounds have died on racetracks in Ireland over the last six years, with 2,343 more injured, all in the name of entertainment.
"We are fully committed to the welfare of all greyhounds affected by our call for a phased end to the sport. We will continue to work collaboratively with the industry and other stakeholders to ensure the welfare of dogs is not compromised while working towards this."
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