Greyhound Racing – Change the Record

For over 75 years now, the greyhound racing industry has been “self regulating”. Successive governments have ignored the need for change, the need for proper records and systems which would help to protect the welfare of the dogs. A culture of secrecy prevails, facilitating the cover up of the most unpleasant facts and figures, which if made public would alarm and disgust animal lovers worldwide.

Here is why we need this change:

Ø At any one time, over 35,000 dogs are racing on tracks in the UK. But this is just an estimate as the tracks in the independent sector keep no records. No one is even sure exactly how many independent tracks are currently operating.

Ø Thousands of races are run every year, with no limit on how many times a dog can be raced.

Ø Around 10,000 dogs are callously discarded by the racing industry every year. But this is a conservative estimate, the number that the National Greyhound Racing Club is prepared to state. There is no verifiable record.

Ø No records are kept of dogs destroyed whilst training or racing, although one vet reportedly put down 10 perfectly healthy dogs in one week.

Ø There are no figures available for the numbers of dogs abandoned or dumped. And even on the rare occasion that the owner can be traced, little or nothing is done to discipline them.

Ø No records exist of the injuries that dogs suffer whilst competing.

Ø No-one knows how many dogs are “retired” from racing every year, or what happens to them afterwards.

Without these facts, it is easy to hide the full extent of the abuse and cruelty that goes on behind the scenes. It´s time to change that, time to keep proper records, time to protect the dogs.

We are campaigning to change legislation within the racing sector, and to highlight the suffering and abuse that greyhounds are subjected to in the name of “sport”.