Labour Government Dismisses Widespread Calls for Greyhound Racing Ban
Our government petition smashed its first target of 10,000 signatures. This milestone meant that the government was obliged to respond to our call for a ban on greyhound racing – a ‘sport’ that claimed 123 dogs’ lives last year, caused thousands of injuries, and placed an enormous burden on rescue centres.
The government response begins “The government has no plans to ban greyhound racing” and goes on to cite several unsatisfactory, poorly thought-out, and misinformed excuses as to why they had arrived at that position.
Whilst we continue the fight to save innocent dogs from this cruel industry, we would like to take the time to address some of the inaccurate, misguided, and just plain incorrect statements made in the government’s response:
They said:
“The government considers it a well-regulated sport”
We say:
The industry marks its own homework. The only regulator for greyhound racing in the UK is the Greyhound Board of Great Britain who have been given permission by a government body (the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS)) to hold themselves to account, which is an enormous conflict of interests. The government has abandoned its responsibility to uphold the Animal Welfare Act 2006 in allowing an organisation to regulate its own use and abuse of animals.
They said:
“The government also recognises the important contribution greyhound racing makes to the country’s cultural life”
We say:
Greyhound racing is dwindling in popularity and has seen a huge decline over the past decade, with attendance slumping and public opinion changing. The ‘sport’ is most popular with gamblers and is propped up by the revenue from streaming races worldwide – far from being central to local culture and community as they would have you believe.
Ron was abandoned and luckily rescued after the racing industry was done with him. For him and thousands more victims, we fight on.
They said:
“The welfare of racing greyhounds in England is covered by the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010. The 2006 Act allows action to be taken where there is evidence of cruelty to an animal or a failure to provide for an animal’s welfare needs.”
We say:
Deliberately placing an animal in a situation in which their safety may be compromised is cruelty and constitutes a failure to provide for an animal’s welfare needs. The Animal Welfare Act 2006 states that:
“A person commits an offence if—
(a)an act of his, or a failure of his to act, causes an animal to suffer,
(b)he knew, or ought reasonably to have known, that the act, or failure to act, would have that effect or be likely to do so,
(c)the animal is a protected animal, and
(d)the suffering is unnecessary.”
The choice to train a greyhound to run beyond their limits at the risk of sustaining sometimes fatal injuries is cruelty by this definition. To comply with the Animal Welfare Act 2006 greyhound racing must be banned.
They said:
“The 2010 Regulations include the requirement that all tracks must have a vet present while dogs are running, who must inspect each greyhound intended to run in every race, trial, or sales trial to ensure that the greyhound is fit to run.”
We say:
Vets attend slaughterhouses too. The presence of a vet does not mean an animal is less likely to come to harm. The racing industry in fact expects greyhounds to come to harm and indeed die due to racing, as evidenced by the presence of freezers for cadavers at every racetrack in the country.
They said:
“The GBGB has also introduced a Greyhound Retirement Scheme to contribute towards rehoming costs; as well as an Injury Recovery Scheme to provide financial support to trainers to treat career-ending injuries to greyhounds, where otherwise they might be put to sleep.”
We say:
Our concern was never that the cost to trainers and owners of dogs being injured and rehomed, it was and remains that dogs should never be deliberately put in positions where their health or home is under threat.
They are entitled to a safe and comfortable home, for life.
As disappointed as we are in the response, our campaign does not end here. We have until January to reach 100,000 signatures, so it is now more important than ever to sign and share the petition! This government’s flippant dismissal of public cries for an end to such callous cruelty to animals does not deter us. Support us today by sharing the petition so that we can bring the debate to the House of Commons. Our campaign ends only when greyhound racing in the UK ends.
You can read the full response on the petition site: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/731016