A greyhound wearing a jacket being cuddled by his owner.

Why it's time to end greyhound racing

Joy, and the opportunity to experience it, is what makes life worth living.  

Give a greyhound a sofa and you can’t help but smile as they stretch their long limbs across its comfy cushions. Watch them with their person and you’ll see them do ‘the lean’, transferring their bodyweight sideways and leaving their human no option but to return the affection. 

This is the life greyhounds deserve to live. One of being embraced; not raced. 

The existence of many racing greyhounds is miserable, from birth until death. Too many live in poor, barren kennels, with little, if any, enrichment or opportunity to make many hours a day staring at the same four walls less mundane. Too many are fed a poor diet, and suffer from inadequate welfare standards when being transported to tracks across the country. 

In the extreme heat of 33 degrees, when we seek fans or air conditioning to keep us and our pets cool, greyhounds are still expected to compete. Injury and fatality numbers remain high – over 2,700 dogs died or were put to sleep as a result of being used by the racing industry since 2018, and over 26,000 injuries were recorded between 2018 and 2023 by industry officials. 

And we just don’t know the true number of puppies left unaccounted for between birth and racing registration – the industry refers to these missing young dogs as 'wastage'. 

We’d never put our own dogs through this suffering, yet in 2024 it is still seen as acceptable to condemn racing greyhounds to a life of misery all in the name of ‘entertainment’.

The industry has failed to deliver on its promises to make real improvements to the welfare of these wonderful animals, and we can no longer stay silent. 

Please join us as we continue to call for an end to greyhound racing across the four nations of the UK and allow all greyhounds the opportunity to experience life as loved family pets.

We know the campaign to ban greyhound racing is a complex subject and you may have questions. We’ve done our best to answer these below.

We, along with other dog welfare organisations, had been members of the Greyhound Forum. For many years we believed the best way to influence the industry and encourage change was through building relationships with those who had the power to make it. But unfortunately, too many of our recommendations were either not implemented at all, or watered down to a level where there was minimum welfare impact on the dogs.  

In 2023, we decided we could no longer call for improvements where we knew our asks were futile. Now, because of the lack of willingness to change by the industry, and because of the growing body of evidence that the welfare implications have a detrimental impact at every stage of a racing greyhound’s life, we believe the time is right to begin winding the racing industry down. 

Greyhound racing takes place lawfully in 10 countries, four of those being UK nations. It remains legal in: Australia, England, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Scotland, United States, Vietnam, and Wales. 

There are a number of reasons. Some are inherent to racing. Others are related to off-track practices which could be improved with a willingness that is sadly lacking in the industry. 

The race itself is inherently dangerous because several high-prey-drive dogs, in chase mode, run at speeds of over 40mph around oval tracks. Navigating bends at speed means their bodies are subjected to high pressures and asymmetrical forces, so the dogs have two options to avoid falling over: slow down, or run wider. The innate desire to catch the mechanical hare means they won’t slow, so instead they risk collision with the other dogs in the race. This is where injuries and fatalities most commonly occur. 

Off the track, there are significant concerns around kennelling, standard of care, and transportation of many racing dogs. These relate to space provided in kennels, lighting levels, exercise opportunities, sanitation, diet, and access to dental and vet care. 

The current regulatory framework for the industry does not ensure a minimum standard for greyhounds that assures a life worth living. 

No. Dog welfare is at the heart of our decision to call for an end to greyhound racing. We don’t want dogs to suffer, neither on the track nor due to a sudden end to the industry they are a part of.  

That’s why we’re not calling for an immediate ban, but instead for a phasing out over five years. A pragmatic approach that takes into account the dogs’ needs and rehoming organisations’ resources means we won’t see healthy dogs being euthanised for want of a home. Our Blue Cross rehoming team is currently planning for how we can ensure we can accommodate dogs leaving the industry. A great many dog organisations are committed to working with us to ensure the safety and wellbeing of retired racers. 

 

They love to run, but not to race. Sighthounds – including greyhounds, whippets and salukis – were bred to use their keen eyesight and agile bodies to quickly chase down prey. Today’s greyhounds love to run and chase, just as their ancestors did. But they weren’t forced to run in a way that is unnatural to their species; on sand tracks around tight oval bends which put them at risk of collision and can lead to injury and death.  

Off the track, the majority of greyhounds spend most of their days in kennels. While there are trainers and owners who do care for and love their dogs, there are too many recorded instances of greyhounds’ basic welfare needs not being met. These include little, if any, enrichment, poor diet and uncomfortable conditions including lack of space and access to light. 
 

Not really. While it’s true a night out at the dog races did attract audiences of millions in the 1940s, that’s no longer the case. A recent YouGov poll found 91 per cent of the British public neither attends greyhound races nor follows them. Understanding of, and attitudes to, animal welfare have changed significantly over recent decades. Practices that were once commonplace are now accepted as being detrimental to animal welfare and, as such, outdated.  

We Brits love our dogs, but 40 per cent of the countries globally still allowing greyhound racing to take place legally are those which make up the United Kingdom. It’s time we caught up with the majority of the world and outlawed the suffering caused by this ‘sport’.

— Page last updated 08/07/2024