The vets involved in the greyhound doping row face the possibility of an investigation by their own professional body, The Irish Times learned yesterday.
Bord na gCon recently fined two trainers, Paul Hennessy and John Kiely, €1,000 each after their dogs tested positive for Erythropoietin (EPO), a banned substance, after races.
A spokeswoman for the Veterinary Council of Ireland, which regulates vets operating in the Republic, said there was a possibility it would investigate the vets involved for malpractice. She stressed that the council was obliged to establish what was hearsay and what was evidence before it could proceed with any inquiry.
UCD professor of veterinary pharmacology Dr Tom Barragry has advised the council that EPO is not licensed in the Republic or anywhere in Europe for veterinary use. Its use is banned by greyhound and horseracing bodies. Both trainers obtained EPO from vets.
According to Bord na gCon records, Mr Hennessy's vet, Bill Maher, admitted to the board's disciplinary body that he administered the drug to his dog, Barefoot Jenny, when her blood count was low. He advised the trainer that she was not fit to run for a few weeks. But Mr Hennessy decided to run her four nights later, on June 11th 2005, when she tested positive.
The records also show that when Mr Kiely's dog, Westmead Rumble, tested positive on July 1st last, he admitted to a racetrack official that he had used EPO a number of times. Mr Kiely told him he got it for €100 for each 1ml injection, but he refused to name the vet.
Bord na gCon member Frank O'Connell told a board meeting last week he believed some trainers were giving EPO to their dogs to treat illness. But he added that they did not realise the implication of what they were doing.
This week, Minister for Sport John O'Donoghue appointed former justice department secretary general Tim Dalton to review the board's decision not to publish details of the hearing at which the trainers were fined, and its decision to sack its chief executive, Aidan Tynan.
Last month, Mr Tynan wrote to the Minister expressing his concern at the board's decision not to publish these details.Bord na gCon and its chairman, Paschal Taggart, insist its decision to dismiss Mr Tynan was not connected with this letter.
Mr Taggart yesterday dismissed reports that Bord na gCon has paid more than €2 million in legal costs and settlements to former staff, and said the figure was closer to €200,000. A Dáil Public Accounts Committee inquiry into Bord na gCon's funding for 2002 found that, at that point, it had paid €154,000 in legal settlements with former staff.
