IACM takes in 533 greyhounds stranded by Canidrome closure

Dog handlers escort greyhounds walking at the Canidrome track

Local authorities were forced to take in a total of 533 greyhounds abandoned by the Canidrome “Yat Yuen” Company following the closure of the venue on Saturday.

The Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) acknowledged this in a statement and is said to be taking care of the facility in order to “ensure that the greyhounds at [the] Canidrome are being taken care of.”

The IACM has taken provisional measures to look after the stranded dogs, noting that a preliminary assessment done by the bureau’s veterinary team found the dogs were in a healthy condition.

The IACM also contacted several animal rights organizations in Macau to form a team of volunteers to help handle the high number of dogs at the Canidrome.

So far, the bureau has said that the operations of the multi-organization teams have been running smoothly and the dogs have been receiving appropriate care.

In the same statement, the IACM also informed that, in accordance with the Animal Welfare Law, it “has informed Yat Yuen that the non- reclamation of an animal within seven working days equals to abandonment,” reaffirming previous intentions to proceed with the case against Yat Yuen for the dogs’ abandonment.
In a letter to newsrooms, the president of Anima, Albano Martins, addressed the statement, saying, “Now is not the time to focus only on thanking Anima and its partners for having successfully closed the Canidrome and also having succeeded in convincing the Macau Government, through IACM, to handle the Canidrome pound,” noting that the upcoming tasks were “hard ones” but reaffirming the will to complete them.
Still believing that this is not the job of the IACM, Martins reaffirmed that Anima “will continue to support IACM with our limited resources and I believe all other Macau animal welfare organizations that joined us in these last minutes will do the same!”

In Martins’ opinion, the time to focus on “fundraising to help the re-homing of these animals with proper families” is now, remarking, “saving these greyhounds will be a huge cost if we do not get airlines [to carry them] for free or at reduced costs!”

Martins noted that time is short and that there is only one year “until the area will be totally reorganized by the Government!” This is time that the organizations involved will use to find a final solution for the relocation and adoption of all the dogs.

After the official closure of the company’s property on Saturday, local authorities found 533 greyhounds were left behind, including a dozen suffering from skin diseases and other conditions.

Animal rights activists, both locally and abroad, have expressed concern about the fate of the race dogs, most of which were bred in Australia.
At the same time, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has urged Macau authorities to grant custody of the greyhounds to local animal protection groups in order to accelerate the process of adoption and relocation and guarantee that it is done in a proper way, and that the animals do not end up on illegal race tracks in mainland China or other countries.

Yat Yuen former staff reported for duty on Saturday

Several Yat Yuen Company former staff members reported for duty at the Canidrome venue on Saturday morning with the purpose of continuing work as dog caretakers, TDM Radio reported.

According to the report, the staff members that showed up at the Canidrome claimed to have been told by their supervisors to continue work. They also claimed they were the most appropriate people to handle the dogs as they were already doing such tasks and knew the animals better than anyone else.

Also according to the radio station, on Saturday morning the Yat Yuen Company issued a statement saying that starting from today, the company will offer jobs to all 129 former Canidrome employees left without jobs due to the closure of the facility.
Job positions will be offered at other companies from the Sociedade de Jogos de Macau group, such as the Jockey Club and Macau Slot.

Half century of dog races come to an end

MACAU WAS the only place in China where dog racing is legal. However, betting on dog races at Macau’s Canidrome — a tradition more than 50 years old — soured after animal rights groups accused the company of mistreating the dogs and euthanizing those that underperformed on the track.