Greyhound racing

Christina Rees MP

The Petitions Committee asked me to open the Westminster Hall debate regarding E-Petition 554073, which asks the UK Government to abolish greyhound racing through a managed shutdown and ensure the welfare of redundant greyhounds by a levy on the industry. The petition closed on 30th April 2021 with 104,885 signatures.

The Petitioner wanted to remain anonymous because of attacks via social media, so it was my responsibility to present their words to the MPs who attended the Westminster Hall debate. The debate was well attended, with MPs presenting contrary views.

The Petitioner believes that the welfare of racing greyhounds is not adequately protected by animal welfare legislation, the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB), independent bodies, and that greyhounds endure suffering on dangerously configured tracks, are raced in extreme weather, and housed in kennels not independently inspected.

Following pressure from welfare charities and campaigners, GBGB have been required to publish annual data of racing greyhounds since 2017, but Dogs Trust and the RSPCA have questioned the accuracy of this data, and it is not broken down to track level, so does not flag remedial action if needed at a specific track.

Nevertheless, the data is very concerning. Between 2017 and 2019, a total of 14,770 were injured, and 1643 were put to sleep for humane or economic reasons. The Petitioner discovered that greyhounds recorded as being in rescue centres, or re-homed as a pet, were still racing. Greyhounds recorded as retired are sometimes sold or given away to race on the 3 Independent tracks in the UK. Therefore, the dual system of registered GBGB and Independent tracks, does not work because greyhounds are being interchanged between the two separate systems.

I met with the Petitioner online before the debate, so that I could accurately present her views, which were based on evidence, not speculation, and on the suggestion of the Petitioner, I visited Hope Rescue Centre run by Vanessa Waddon, in Llanharan, so that I could learn about the practical realities of re-homing injured or surplus greyhounds. (The Petitioner, Vanessa, their supporters, and rescued greyhound Suzy were in the public gallery during the debate.)

Hope Rescue Centre was created and named after Last Hope, a greyhound found abandoned on Caerphilly mountain in 2004, having been shot with a captive bolt gun. Both his ears had been hacked off to hide identification tattoos, but he was still alive, and the person who found him said he was wagging his tail, but sadly his injuries were so severe, that he had to be put to sleep.

Vanessa supports the UK campaign and in September 2021, Hope Rescue launched the Senedd Petition to ban greyhound racing in Wales, which received 35,101 signatures, and was discussed by the Senedd Petitions Committee on 7th March. The committee agreed a “call for evidence” followed by a debate in the Senedd. Another example of the Welsh Parliament leading the way.

Vanessa told me that she set up the “Amazing Greys” project at the Independent Valleys Track at Ystrad Mynach in April 2018, so that Hope Rescue could provide emergency rescue places for injured and surplus greyhounds before transferring them to Dogs Trust, Greyhound Rescue Wales, or Forever Hounds Trust. Between April 2018 and August 2021, the project took 200 greyhounds whose owners or trainers had links with Valleys Track. 40 had serious injuries and 5 didn’t survive. Many had old undiagnosed injuries, lameness, skin and dental problems, fleas, worms, and suffered with anxiety and fear. 67% of the injured greyhounds were GBGB greyhounds, reinforcing the Petitioner’s assertion that there is no division between GBGB and Independent tracks.

The majority of injuries were broken legs, snapped bones going through the skin. Valleys Track boasts its “eye-watering sharp first bend” on its website. Dr Andrew Knight’s “Injuries in Racing Greyhounds” report 2018, explains that because races are run anti-clockwise, most injuries occur on the left foreleg and the right hind leg, when negotiating a bend the left foreleg is used as a pivot, claws digging into the track, and the right hind leg moves in an arc providing the propulsive force, causing maximum stress. The bones become spongy, and honeycombed. Vanessa and her volunteers were heartbroken when they took the injured greyhounds to Hope Rescue vets, and witnessed their immense suffering. There were no vets at Valleys Track. After publicly sharing the E-Petition, Vanessa was told that Hope Rescue was not welcome at Valleys Track, so the current fate of the injured and surplus greyhounds is no longer known.

Public attitudes to greyhound racing are changing. There were once 77 GBGB tracks and 200 Independent tracks in the UK, but now only 20 and 3 remain. 99% of UK bets on greyhound racing are placed online, so this doesn’t benefit the local economy.

Hope Rescue commissioned a YouGov Poll which showed that 45% of the public support a ban, 17% do not, and 38% are unsure, or don’t support either option.

Andrew Rosindell MP Romford, and Ian Lavery MP Wansbeck spoke in favour of greyhound racing and believed that GBGB are serious about improving welfare regulations. Neil Parish MP Tiverton and Hinton, chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee spoke about the report on greyhound racing that his committee produced in 2006, and said that UK Government and the industry should take the petition seriously, and use it as a very positive approach to ensure that welfare of greyhounds is improved.

John McNally MP Falkirk, SNP spokesperson, spoke in support of the petition. Ruth Jones MP Newport West, Opposition spokesperson, stated that the Labour Party do not support a ban, but greyhound racing should have the safeguards and protections it needs: proper guidance on best practice in responsible ownership; statutory minimum standards for racing and welfare; better methods to trace ownership; and a centralised database to record retired greyhounds. Ruth asked the Minister to get on with it.

The Petitioner and Vanessa believe that a ban is the only solution. This can be achieved immediately in Scotland and Wales, who have very few tracks (Valleys Track is the only track in Wales), but in England a ban should be phased-in to ensure that displaced greyhounds can be accommodated, and infrastructure dismantled over time. I asked the Minister if she would meet with the Petitioner, Vanessa and myself, and have followed up with a letter to Jo Churchill MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Agri-innovation and Climate Adaptation, whose brief covers animal welfare.

Christina Rees is the MP for Neath