A second trap malfunction at Sunderland greyhound stadium in two days fuels fresh calls for greyhound racing ban

Footage circulating on social media and on YouTube showing two separate incidents of dogs becoming caught in malfunctioning traps are adding to mounting calls for a ban on greyhound racing in the UK.

The 19:41 race at Sunderland on Friday 21^st November began with a trap malfunction that caught two dogs in the mechanism. All six dogs were confronted with gates that failed to open properly, two of whom became entangled in the mechanism. Falling Star was caught by his legs, and Scarsdale Pronto was caught by the neck before struggling free. This was followed by a similar incident at the 21:11 race at Sunderland on the 25^th November. The race was declared void, and the subsequent two races of the evening cancelled. Commentators on the live-streamed footage can be heard saying “we need the cameras to move away”.

Whilst the Stadium issued a statement following Friday’s incident, insisting that “a single greyhound had minor bruising and scratches”, the footage speaks for itself and is attracting significant online attention. At time of writing, no statement has been released regarding Tuesday night’s incident and the well-being of the greyhounds involved is unknown.

The incident comes amid widespread calls for a nationwide ban on greyhound racing, with a government petition approaching 25,000 signatures, and bills already progressing through the Welsh and Scottish Parliaments for bans in the devolved governments.