Nov
Greyhound Racing Still Causing Animal Welfare Concerns
A peer has called for Greyhound racing to undergo a radical change amidst continuing concerns over animal welfare in the industry.
Lord Donoghue, who is conducting the review stated the industry “needs to change, as horse racing has”,
A case in Durham earlier this year showed how shocking welfare issues were still affecting the sport.
A £2,000 was handed down to a man for killing and disposing of retired racing dogs.
Donoghue, a former minister for farming, has spent 18 months considering evidence for the review.
The British Racing Greyhound Board (BRGB) says that the four million plus people who go Greyhound racing each year spend some £2.9bn betting on the sport.
The Government has welcomed the review.
Lord Donoughue was asked to provide and consider evidence relating to the greyhound racing industry and to consider ways in which the industry’s standards could be improved.
Responding to the report, Animal Welfare Minister Jeff Rooker said:
“Ministers will want to consider how the greyhound racing industry responds to Lord Donoughue’s review.
“We have already said to the industry that a lot needs to be done to get its house in order, to help improve welfare standards for the dogs used in racing.
“We hope that the industry will make a positive and swift response to Lord Donoughue’s recommendations.”
Gerry Sutcliffe, Minister for Sport, at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, said:
“I welcome the report that Lord Donoughue and his team are publishing today. This recognises that for the greyhound industry to meet the modern demands of sport, leisure, gambling and animal welfare, it must reform its regulation.
“I therefore hope that everyone involved in administrating, promoting, funding and providing gambling facilities for this much-loved and hugely enjoyable sport will work together to develop a collective response to Lord Donoughue’s recommendations. I have no doubt that, with the proper investment and commitment, the greyhound industry can better protect the welfare of racing dogs and attract more people to enjoy the sport.”
Link: Adopt a Greyhound
The Greyhound Board of Great Britain is still not prepared to publish the statistics regarding injuries to greyhounds during racing.
Lord Lipsey states that his reason for not doing this is because he thinks that it will invite extremist attacks on specific tracks? There has never ever been an extremist attack as he calls it.
We constantly hear about transparency in government and their policies but this is clearly a vital statistic which must be made public.
I believe that the Greyhound Racing Board of GB are too frightened that we know the answer to this question.
People need to ask the GBGB to make this statistic known.