THERE will be no “walkies” for greyhound charities this year after organisers reluctantly called off an annual fundraiser.
For the past five years, dog lovers have gathered at Hutton Magna Village Hall to take part in the Great Global Greyhound Walk.
This year’s event was initially scheduled to take place in June and then put back to October 4. However, due to continuing worries about Covid-19, the Great Global Greyhound Walk team called a halt to the event for this year, saying it was inappropriate to encourage people to go out and meet in groups.
Carroll Trevor, who organises the Hutton Magna walk, said it was disappointing not to be able to stage the event.
“This would have been our sixth walk. We have everything in place to make it safe and secure and some lovely things for the tombola but we could not use the village hall.”
Mrs Trevor said the cancellation of a local event which has raised hundreds of pounds for organisations dedicated to the welfare of greys and sighthounds served to highlight the difficulties all charities were facing as a result of the Covid-19 situation.
“A lot of the greyhound organisations did get their dogs into foster homes at the beginning of lockdown, but they still need permanent homes,” she said. “They also need money for food, vets fees etc, and if they don’t get the funding it makes life very difficult.”
Money raised during previous Hutton Magna walks has supported organisations such as the Retired Greyhound Trust, at Merrybent, near Darlington, and Stray Aid, as well as a charity in Spain.
Mrs Trevor said there was nothing to stop people going out with their hound individually on October 4 to show their support – a move encouraged by the Great Global Greyhound Walk.
In a statement, the organisers said: “We would like to thank our walk organisers for committing to this year’s walk in difficult circumstances and apologise that the decision has been made so late.
“The team would love you all to still walk your hounds with pride on Sunday, October 4. We feel that we can all still unite together across the world, doing our daily walks as individuals.”
Mrs Trevor said she hoped the Great Global Greyhound Walk would return next year.
