Greyhound regulator confirms it holds no record of why healthy dogs are euthanised
Hannah Kate Costello
Rásaíocht Con Éireann (RCÉ), the body that regulates greyhound racing in Ireland, has confirmed it keeps no record of why individual greyhounds are euthanised, and that the decision to put down a healthy dog deemed unsuitable for racing or breeding rests solely with the dog's owner.
The admission, made in response to questions for this article, comes as figures cited in the Dáil by Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh show that 66 per cent of greyhounds born in Ireland between 2021 and 2024 that have since retired from racing and remained on the island are dead.
Just 22 per cent have been rehomed. The Minister for Agriculture, Martin Heydon, did not dispute these figures in the Dáil.
Asked who decides that a greyhound should be euthanised on these grounds, and what oversight applies,
RCÉ said the decision is made by the owner "in consultation with the owner's veterinary practitioner". It said: "Accordingly, RCÉ does not hold records on same." There is no independent welfare officer sign-off, no defined welfare threshold, and no audit trail on RCÉ's side.
The Department of Agriculture said: "The Department is satisfied with the arrangements currently in place to support greyhound welfare."
Death and export figures disputed
The 66 per cent/22 per cent figures were first cited in the Dáil by Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh, based on data showing that of 12,766 greyhounds born in this period and no longer racing, two-thirds are dead.
Similar figures were published separately by the advocacy group Greyhound Action Ireland (GAI), which put the number of confirmed deaths at 8,414 as of May 8th 2026, with a further 1,608 dogs, born in the same period and known to have lived to at least 12 weeks of age, unaccounted for.
GAI says the fate of 16,042 dogs exported from Ireland in the same period "will never be known."
RCÉ disputed the 66 per cent/22 per cent figures as incomplete, arguing they exclude exported greyhounds, which it says should be counted within "the overall lifecycle of the greyhound population".
However, RCÉ's own response also states it "has no statutory jurisdiction or inspection powers outside the Republic of Ireland" and "cannot independently verify or monitor the ongoing status of exported greyhounds" once they leave the State.
RCÉ's position, that exports should be counted as a resolved outcome for the purpose of the domestic figures, while also stating it cannot verify what happens to dogs after export, was not reconciled in its response.
RCÉ separately rejected GAI's use of the term "unaccounted for," saying its traceability system "remains fit for its statutory purpose" under Section 28 of the Greyhound Racing Act 2019. It did not set out what process, if any, follows when a dog's status cannot be verified.
Racing deaths not disputed
RCÉ did not dispute GAI's figures on deaths during racing. RCÉ's own data shows 202 greyhounds died or were euthanised following racing injuries in 2024 and 197 in 2025 — a combined 399, consistent with GAI's figure of 400 racing deaths over the same period.
RCÉ said this represents 0.18 per cent of the 364,961 dogs that started races between 2022 and 2025.
The Department said an independent review of its governance of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund, which considered welfare standards, has been completed and sent to the Public Accounts Committee. It recommends increasing, over the medium term, the share of the fund ringfenced for welfare. The Department said it will work with RCÉ and Horse Racing Ireland to implement this "in the coming months," without giving a date or target.
Since 2020, 10 per cent of RCÉ's annual allocation from the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund — €19.8 million in Budget 2026 — has been ring-fenced for welfare and integrity.
Senator Chris Andrews has called in the Seanad for an independent review of RCÉ's animal welfare record. The Minister has not committed to this.
