TWO Co Kerry brothers yesterday asked the High Court for an order prohibiting the Irish Coursing Club (ICC) carrying out an investigation into the parentage of a greyhound pup.
Mr Jerry Healy SC, for Mr Thomas and Mr Joe O'Connor, of Saleen, Tarbert, claimed the ICC executive committee was alarmed about the future of DNA testing on dogs that the test, introduced in 1989, might not be as definitive as it had thought and that the consequences of this would be very serious.
The two men are seeking a judicial review of the ICC's decision to hold an investigation into the parentage of a greyhound pup.
The President of the High Court, Mr Justice Costello will give his decision today.
Mr Thomas O'Connor, a greyhound breeder, had a bitch, Star Razor, which he claimed gave birth to 12 pups in May 1992. In an affidavit, he said that he and his brother owned Star Razor which was mated to a stud dog Crafty Thriller, in March 1992. This was not a success, and on the following day she was mated successfully with a different stud dog, Sirron.
Mr O'Connor said that he sent a completed declaration of litter form to the ICC and in June 1992 he asked the ICC to carry out a DNA test on the pups.
The ICC directed him to Dr E. Kelly at Serology Ltd, a company providing blood typing services from UCD. In August 1992 Dr Kelly indicated a number of the pups were "doubtfuls". On the following day Dr Kelly said he considered two pups "doubtfuls" and the one in the present controversy "would never go through".
Mr O'Connor said that he told Dr Kelly the test results had to be wrong and he had asked for another test.
He got a letter on December 7th referring to blood tests and informing him that a meeting of the ICC's general purposes committee would be held on December 22nd to investigate the pup. Mr O'Connor said that a request for postponement of the ICC meeting had been granted.
Mr O'Connor said that, after being provided with the results of Dr Kelly's testing in March 1993, he and his brother wrote to the ICC, pointing out the lack of certainty in Dr Kelly's conclusions.
He and his brother had independent tests carried out at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, which indicated that Sirron and Star Razor qualified as parents of the pup.
Mr Jeremiah Desmond, the ICC's chief executive and secretary, said that the pup showed a genetic fingerprinting inconsistent with any genetic segregation present in the other pups, and it was for this reason an inquiry was held.