THE OXFORD PAPER Thursday, May 3, 2018 No.90
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Weekly leisure guide for in & around Oxford
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There’ll be some good rockin’ tonight!
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Welfare group’s concern over greyhound racing at stadium Council urged to reconsider plan By George Welch
AN animal welfare charity ‘hugely concerned’ greyhound racing could return to Oxford has urged the city council to reconsider bringing back the sport. The League Against Cruel Sports said tracks should be shut down, not revived, after latest figures claim 1,000 dogs died at races across the UK in 2017. Campaigners raised concerns after an independent report last month judged the reopening of Oxford Stadium, which closed in 2012, as a ‘commercially viable solution’. But Chris Luffi ngham, director of campaigns at the League Against Cruel Sports, wants Oxford City Council, which commissioned the report, to reassess. He said: “Oxford became a more compassionate city for dogs when greyhound racing ended here in 2012. “The figures released this year by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain reveal that more than 1,000 dogs die every year as a result of the industry, so why would Oxford City Council even consider bringing racing back and being complicit in these fatalities? “We urge Oxford City Council to reconsider bringing back greyhound racing to the stadium and instead invest in alternative activities
Tree-mendous turn out marks May traditions
Picture: Tom Jennings
that don’t cause dogs to suffer unnecessarily and pay with their lives.” According to greyhound campaign group Greyt Exploitations, there were 132 incidents involving 128 dogs recorded at the Oxford track in 2011. A total of 54 of those dogs were recorded as not going on to race again. There were 120 incidents involving 114 dogs the following year, 36 of which were recorded as never racing again. These figures cover incidents where dogs did not fi nish, were lame or fi nished far behind the rest of the field – all indicative of, but not confi rmed as an injury. Mr Luffi ngham added: “We’re a nation of dog lovers and the cruelty of greyhound racing has been made abundantly clear. “We need to see the closure of further tracks around the country and a phasing out and eventual shut down of the sport, not a revival.” The city council was told that a fully functioning stadium has the potential to create 62 full-time jobs and generate more than £3.1million for Oxfordshire’s economy. Tim Sadler, executive director of Sustainable City, said: “We have commissioned an independent specialist to objectively investigate the viability of retaining these facilities at Oxford Stadium. No decisions have been made about the site.”
AROUND 12,000 people gathered in the centre of Oxford on Tuesday to enjoy the weird and wonderful traditional May morning celebrations. The annual event, which has taken place for centuries, welcomed spring from 6am with Magdalen College choir singing Hymnus Eucharisticus from the college’s Great Tower. Traditional events and activities, including Morris Dancing and folk singing broke out across the city as the bells rang out. Oxford City Council, which organised the event, said the new crowd management system, including one-way crowd flows on Magdalen Bridge, were a success. Cultural development manager Paula Redway said: “May Morning is one of the highlights of living in our beautiful city, and I am delighted so many people were able to take part and enjoy this uniquely Oxford tradition. “This year we implemented a new crowd management system, which worked well and enabled people to flow across Magdalen Bridge during the event.”
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