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Senedd Members have debated calls from a host of animal welfare charities to ban greyhound racing in Wales.
A debate on the matter was held in the Senedd on Wednesday March 8. It came after the Welsh Government announced last month that a consultation into the phasing out of the greyhound racing would be held.
Last year, a petition by Hope Rescue calling for a ban in Wales got more than 35,000 signatures and led to the Senedd’s Petitions Committee publishing a report calling for it to be phased out.
Wales’ Minister for Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths, has accepted most of the recommendations put forward by the committee – which includes a phased ban, which was discussed in depth on Wednesday.
Plaid Cymru Senedd Member Delyth Jewell and Islwyn’s Labour MS Rhianon Passmore both spoke in support of a ban.
In the debate, Ms Jewell said: Greyhound racing is cruel. It damages dogs, it causes them immense suffering, injures them, sometimes irrevocably, beyond any chance of recovery – and it kills dogs, sometimes immediately, sometimes years later – dogs who have become beloved family pets, who live shorter lives than they should have because of the trauma and fractures and chronic pain that dog their days.”
She said the debate was a chance to “give momentum to the idea that greyhound racing should be banned here in Wales and no more dogs should have to suffer in this way”.
Ms Passmore highlighted the fact Wales and the United Kingdom were “outliers globally” due to not having a ban already in place.
Meanwhile, Caerphilly’s Labour MS Hefin David, voiced concerns over what could happen on the site of Wales’ only greyhound racing track – which is in Ystrad Mynach – if a ban was put into law.
The site of the Valley Greyhounds track, which has applied for planning permission to expand its offering, is on a floodplain.
Read more about Valley Greyhounds’ expansion plans.
Dr David said: “I am concerned that the closure of the track would lead to further flood risk, leaving behind derelict land in an area which already struggles with severe flooding.
“Any ban or regulation would directly affect that. If the track was not there, there would be no one to prevent flooding or clean up afterwards.”
Meanwhile, Plaid Cymru’s Peredur Owen Griffiths said councillors had expressed frustrations to him over the fact they could not reject planning applications based on animal welfare grounds.
During the debate, Conservative MS Joel James, who abstained from voting, said the issue “is not as clear cut as we would like it to be”.
He continued: “What concerns me is that, if there was an outright ban, this doesn’t automatically improve the welfare of greyhounds.
“In fact, there’s an argument that it doesn’t improve greyhound welfare at all. All those owners or breeders who commit animal abuse, or have poor welfare standards for their animals, will simply no longer be visible and will go underground.”
What have animal welfare charities said?
RSPCA Cymru, Blue Cross, Hope Rescue, Dogs Trust and Greyhound Racing have all campaigned against greyhound racing as part of their joint ‘Cut the Chase’ campaign.
Chris Sherwood, chief executive of RSPCA said the debate underlined “the strength of support across the Senedd chamber for not only improving greyhound welfare, but for stopping greyhound racing in Wales altogether.”
He added: “Wales is one of only ten countries in the world where commercial greyhound racing remains. It’s time for Wales to cut the chase on greyhound racing, and consign this so-called sport to the history books.”
Chris Burghes, Chief Executive of Blue Cross, said greyhound racing was a “dying industry that cannot be defended in the name of tradition, or by empty promises from the industry to improve welfare”.
Greater regulation “is the right and obvious way to protect welfare”
Mark Bird, CEO of the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB), claimed “inaccurate, unevidenced and misleading information” had been shared with Senedd Members before the debate and said: “We believe all such debate should rely on robust data and evidence rather than myths and generalisations.”
Mr Bird added: “Our view of course remains that greater regulation of greyhound racing in Wales is the right and obvious way to protect welfare and we will continue to work with members and officials in whatever way we can towards securing this.”
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