Just to clarify, one of the libels was, that I had been "charged and found guilty of the crime of cruelty to animals, and that the greyhound authorities had banned me from owning or training greyhounds for ten year.....this was a matter of public record"

That's pretty specific! As I see animal cruelty on a par with child abuse I fail to see why I should have to defend myself in court as Dave suggests. The accusation is completely false, I own four racing dogs at present and have never at any time been in any sort of bother with the Greyhound racing board. The accuser has never posted any evidence to back up his accusation, because there is none.
These sorts of accusations are disgraceful, as Keith has said, what if you Dave were falsely accused of being a child abuser on this forum by someone who refused to give any evidence for the accusation?
I would not believe it AND I would condemn it.
You people stick together like glue, you haven't a clue what civil discussion involves.   Your tactics in this case are to intimidate, to silence, to shut down debate.......weasels to a man.