BOSSES at an Greater Manchester animal sanctuary accused of killing healthy greyhounds revealed they had been the victims of animal rights activists.
Staff at the Leigh Animal Sanctuary said they had been threatened at home and at work and received abusive phone calls and letters.
The claims came after a report said the sanctuary had offered to destroy two healthy, but unwanted, young racing greyhounds by lethal injection for é70.
Unnamed greyhound trainers claimed that the sanctuary was well-known within the sport and had been offering the service for many years.
But in a statement bosses at the sanctuary said they only put animals to sleep when there was "no viable alternative".
They also announced they would no longer be accepting unwanted greyhounds due to the "extreme" threats from animal rights activists.
'Saved'
A spokesman for the centre said: "This has been perpetrated by people claiming to be animal rights activists, who conveniently ignore the fact that literally thousands of animals have been saved and re-homed as a direct result of the work we do."
A report in 2003 by the RSPCA revealed that more than 12,000 greyhounds in England and Wales had been killed or discarded once their careers were over. RSPCA spokesman Steve Cheetham said the greyhound industry needed to "clean up its act".
Mr Cheetham added: "There is no justification for killing animals simply because they can't do their job."
The National Greyhound Racing Club - which controls the sport in Britain - has launched an investigation into the allegations.
Senior steward Edward Bentall said: "The rules of racing are very clear for all to see - that every effort must be made to re-home and avoid the euthanasia of greyhounds. Any person unable to abide by the basic rules is not welcome."
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So 'Animal Rights' activists have now prevented an animal sanctuary from putting healthy dogs to sleep. Doubtless they did, on occasion, have to carry out this onerous task; but have these Animal Rights idiots given any thought as to what the alternative will now be for those dogs not 'lucky' enough to be dealt with humanely? Drowning, throttling and being shot through the head is what they have to look forward to. While the putting down of healthy dogs is abhorrent, at least if they are being put to sleep by lethal injection it is still preferable to the painful and prolonged deaths they will now undergo.
The root cause of this slaughter is the greyhound racing industry, which disposes of thousands of dogs every year, most of whom are put to death.
This is why, as an international greyhound protection organisation, we are calling on the public to boycott dog racing - don't go to it or bet on it - so that this evil industry dies away through lack of financial support.