Huge Moment for Animal Welfare as Greyhound Racing Set to be Banned in Wales

The Minister for Rural Affairs, in charge of animal welfare in Wales, told Senedd members on Wednesday, February 15, that she had now replied to a recent report from the Petitions Committee. In the report, most members agreed that the sport should be phased out in Wales. This came after a petition was started and more than 35,000 people signed it.

Malcom Tams, the owner of the last greyhound track in Wales, Valleys Greyhounds, located in Caerphilly, said he will start a petition in response to the government's current position and doubts the plans will go through. RSPCA Cymru has asked the people in charge in Wales to stop the sport.

The petition will be discussed in the Senedd on March 8th.

Mr Tams, who has been in the business for 50 years, is still determining if it will go out soon. Speaking to freebets.ltd.uk he said:

"If it did happen, it would take a long time. Even more so if we start a petition against the idea and more people sign it."

"I am quite frankly shocked to hear that they are backing the petition because if they ban greyhound racing here you'd think they would also be doing it in England. I bet the original petition wasn't even signed entirely by people in Wales so I don't know what to say."

"I'm a business owner in this area, and I've put a lot of money into building a business here. I don't think enough research has been done on how I work and whether or not people in Wales want greyhound racing banned."

Even though the rest of the UK still lets greyhound racing happen, many other countries have already banned it. Unlike England, Wales has no specific laws or rules about greyhound racing. It is also one of only ten places where greyhound racing will still be held for money in 2023.

Experts on greyhound welfare at the RSPCA worry that the sport puts greyhounds in unnecessary danger of painful injuries and death. The RSPCA does not think that regulations will protect greyhound welfare enough. The head of the RSPCA's department for companion animals, Dr Samantha Gaines said:

"This is a huge moment for dog welfare by the Welsh Government committing to a consultation on cutting the chase, by phasing out greyhound racing in Wales."

"There are welfare problems with greyhound racing in Wales, but it's hard to know how bad they are because there aren't any vets at the track, and no rule says injuries or deaths must be reported. But as long as this sport is allowed, dogs will continue to be in danger of severe injury or death for no reason.

The charity recently did an internal review with the Dogs Trust that looked at every part of a racing greyhound's life. The results showed severe problems at every stage, such as insufficient welfare standards for kenneling and dog transport.

The report by the Welsh Parliament made five recommendations. One was to think about the welfare of dogs travelling through Wales on their way to races. Another was for the Welsh Government to work with the industry to figure out how they could follow any new laws or constraints. The Minister disagreed with the only recommendation in the Senedd's report. It said that if the Welsh Government considers banning greyhound racing, it should look at all sports where animals compete.