Blue Cross encouraged by EFRA’s recommendations for racing greyhounds
Blue Cross is encouraged by a report released today urging tougher regulations to protect racing greyhounds.
The cross-party Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee report recommends that retired dogs should be found homes at the end of their careers wherever possible.
It also found that bookmakers should contribute more to protecting racing dogs and should not prioritise profit over high welfare standards.
Steve Goody, Deputy Chief Executive at Blue Cross, said: “Blue Cross has been calling for tougher regulations to protect the welfare of racing greyhounds for over 10 years and EFRA’s report is a positive step in the right direction. The EFRA report recommendations if adopted by Government will make a real difference for racing greyhounds.
“As a charity that finds new homes for pets, we are particularly encouraged to see that EFRA has recommended that wherever possible retired dogs should be found homes at the end of their careers. We are also pleased to see EFRA recommend that the betting industry, who make large profits of the back of races, have a greater role to play in terms of putting funding back into protecting the welfare of the dogs, something we have been calling for for a number of years.
“We just hope that Government and the industry take the recommendations on board to ensure that the welfare of racing greyhounds is better protected.”