Ending greyhound racing in Wales - RSPCA Political Animal
Ending greyhound racing in Wales
The RSPCA has significant welfare concerns for racing greyhounds while taking part in this inherently dangerous activity and throughout their lives. As such, we are working as part of the Cut the Chase coalition, comprising Hope Rescue, Dogs Trust, Blue Cross, Greyhound Rescue Wales and the RSPCA - to call for a phased end to greyhound racing in Wales.
As it stands, Wales remains one of only 10 countries in the world where commerical greyhound racing takes place. The Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) is the self-regulating body responsible for regulating the care and welfare of racing greyhounds, including those raced at the Valley Greyhound Stadium in Ystrad Mynach. We believe that regulation is not the solution to the welfare issues associated with greyhound racing, and fails to protect dogs from the inherent risk of injury and death associated with the industry.
There are numerous issues associated with the industry which detrimentally affect the welfare of greyhounds.These include unsuitable housing and transportation methods, the presence of dental disease and the inadequate socialisation and habituation of puppies. The reliance of the industry on the rescue sector, combined with the lack of track specific data and a consistent source of funding for welfare provisions, is also highly concerning.
The RSPCA has long engaged with the greyhound racing industry to try and secure improvements to the welfare of these vulnerable dogs. While this has led to some changes, we believe that there are still significant welfare issues for racing greyhounds which have not been - and cannot be - resolved. We are therefore calling on the Welsh Government to commit to an end to greyhound racing in Wales and hope that such action will soon be forthcoming.