Rehoming greyhounds 'more challenging' since end of pandemic

Greyhounds, as pets, generally live about 12 years on average so most will have several years of life remaining following their retirement from racing. File picture

Rehoming greyhounds has become “particularly challenging” since the end of the pandemic due to people having to return to the workplace, according to the body with responsibility for securing homes for retired racing dogs.

In its annual report for 2024, the Irish Retired Greyhound Trust noted that 1,100 retired greyhounds were rehomed last year.

However, the period since the pandemic came to an end in January 2022 has proven difficult, it said.

“The post-covid period has been particularly challenging for both domestic and international animal rehoming organisations,” the report said.

“There has been a global decline in the number of households with pets, post-covid years, due in the main to employees having returned to the workplace.” 

There were roughly 2,900 greyhounds registered as racing at any one time between 2022 and 2023, per the official race management statistics of governing body Greyhound Racing Ireland (GRI).

Greyhounds, as pets, typically live about 12 years on average, meaning most will have several years of life remaining following their retirement from racing.

The welfare of racing greyhounds has been a topic of controversy in recent years, since the broadcast of an RTÉ Investigates documentary on the sport in 2019 which claimed that up to 6,000 animals a year were being culled due to not being fast enough.

In the wake of that documentary, GRI commissioned a traceability programme known as RCETS at a cost of €295,000 — with the first full year of that tracing being 2021.

Last month GRI released its first five-year strategic plan in several years, which listed continued investment in welfare and addressing a perceived negative perception of the industry among its main priorities.

Last August the Irish Examiner revealed that nearly 2,800 racing greyhounds, more than a fifth of dogs born in Ireland in 2021, were either dead or unaccounted for, per GRI’s own statistics.

Both the greyhound and horse racing industries in Ireland receive many millions in taxpayer funding each year via the Horse and Greyhound Fund, which totalled €99m for 2025, with just under €20m of that figure distributed to the greyhound industry.

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

That figure is the highest the fund has reached in the 24 years since its introduction by then-finance minister Charlie McCreevy in 2001.

The fund has proven controversial for many reasons, in that it stands accused of giving an unfair level of funding to the two industries given the relatively small level of funding given to other sports such as football. 

Opponents of the horseracing and greyhound racing consider the ongoing support for the fund inappropriate given a series of animal cruelty scandals that have affected the two sports over the past decade.

GRI said it "remains committed to responsible rehoming and continues to work with trusted partners to ensure the welfare of all retired greyhounds".

A spokesperson said: "Many people who adopted dogs during the pandemic found they could no longer care for them once they returned to the workplace. 

"While this issue has been widely reported in both local and national media, it was a more significant challenge for other rehoming organisations dealing with non-greyhound breeds."