Senedd pleges to end greyhound racing in Wales

The news that the Welsh Government has committed to banning greyhound racing in Wales has been heralded as a major step forward in dog welfare by Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, which has rehoming centres in Cardiff and Bridgend. 

Earlier today, Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies announced a government commitment to banning greyhound racing in Wales. 

In response, Owen Sharp, Chief Executive of Dogs Trust, says:

“Today’s announcement that the Welsh Government is committed to ending greyhound racing marks a significant step forward for animal welfare. Over the past six years, more than 2,700 dogs have lost their lives in the UK in the name of entertainment, with many more suffering serious or life-changing injuries. This is unacceptable, and we are pleased the Senedd is ready and willing to take decisive action to prevent further deaths and injuries.

“The UK joins just four other countries worldwide where this cruel so-called sport still persists. With Wales now committed to ending greyhound racing, it’s time England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland followed suit and put a stop to this inhumane form of entertainment once and for all.”

Since 2018, more than 2,700 greyhounds have died or were put to sleep following their participating in greyhound racing around the UK, so the news that it is to be banned in Wales has been lauded by Dogs Trust, along with other members of the Cut the Chase coalition - RSPCA Cymru, Blue Cross, Greyhound Rescue Wales and Hope Rescue. Collectively, as the Cut the Chase Coalition, these leading voices in animal welfare have been campaigning to bring greyhound racing to an end in Wales and across the UK to stop the entirely preventable injuries and deaths of dogs involved in racing.

Greyhound racing is inherently dangerous for the dogs involved, and running at speed around oval tracks causes significant injury to many dogs. In some cases, the injuries are so severe that it is necessary to euthanise the dog. The most recent data from the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB), the organisation responsible for licencing greyhound tracks in the UK, shows that last year, 359 racing greyhounds died or were put to sleep, and there were 4,238 recorded injuries. This is a significant increase of 47% compared to the 244 dogs that died or were put to sleep the previous year.  

Further to the deaths and injuries at greyhound racing tracks, there are concerns about the welfare of racing greyhounds at every stage of their lives, including issues around inadequate welfare standards in kennelling and transporting dogs. Some of the dogs used in racing are kept in poor, barren conditions, with little if any enrichment and fed a poor diet, and there are concerns around the general health of the dogs involved in racing.  

There are also significant concerns associated with the running of the greyhound racing industry, including disjointed and ineffective oversight, a lack of transparency regarding industry practices, and concerns around the enforcement of regulatory standards.