Track fatalities increase as Wales prepares to introduce greyhound racing ban

Charities have renewed calls for a ban on greyhound racing after new figures confirmed another increase in track fatalities.

There were more greyhound deaths at Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) licensed tracks last year than in any year since 2020, with thousands of dogs also suffering injuries as a result of racing.

New statistics released today (26 June) by GBGB – the organisation responsible for licensing greyhound tracks in Great Britain – reveal there were 123 fatalities at tracks in 2024, a total of 346 racing-related deaths and 3,809 injuries.

Since 2017, there have now been 1,357 fatalities at licensed tracks, 4,034 greyhounds have died or been put to sleep because of their involvement with racing, while more than 35,000 have experienced injuries.

Leading animal welfare charities, under the banner of the Cut the Chase coalition, say the figures are “further proof” that greyhound racing needs to be phased out in all UK nations.

Inherently dangerous

The coalition argues that greyhound racing is inherently dangerous for the dogs involved, as running at speed around oval tracks can cause significant injury. In some cases, the injuries are so severe that it is necessary to euthanise competing dogs, and the scale of track fatalities last year further demonstrates how dangerous the sport is.

Earlier this year, the Welsh Government announced plans to phase out greyhound racing “as soon as practically possible” – which would make Wales the first nation in the UK to bring the activity to an end.

Yesterday (25 June), in the Senedd, the Deputy First Minister with responsibility for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, Huw Irranca-Davies MS reaffirmed that an Implementation Group is being established to take proposals forward, ahead of legislation to ban greyhound racing in Wales being introduced in the autumn.

Grim

A spokesperson for the Cut the Chase coalition said: “These statistics paint another grim picture of the impact of greyhound racing – and mark the second year in a row that trackside fatalities at GBGB licensed tracks have risen.

“Racing is inherently dangerous for the dogs involved – and rising fatalities proves this. Tens of thousands of greyhounds have been injured in recent years as a result of competing.

“Each and every life matters – and to think 1,100 have lost their lives in trackside fatalities since 2018 is heartbreaking, while many others have died as a result of racing in other ways.

“The Cut the Chase coalition passionately believes that all dogs deserve a good life – but racing is simply incompatible with this. The only way to protect greyhound welfare is to phase out greyhound racing across the UK, starting in Wales.”

Welsh Greyhound Partnership

Since the Welsh Government announced its intention to phase out greyhound racing, a collective of nine animal rescue organisations, including members of the Cut the Chase coalition, have formed the Welsh Greyhound Partnership, which aims to provide care for every single dog leaving the industry in Wales as it is phased out.

The coalition hopes to see other UK nations follow Wales’ lead in ending the industry. While the UK Government said it has “absolutely no plans” to end the sport in England, support for an end to greyhound racing in Scotland is growing.

In July 2024, Mark Ruskell MSP, whose Mid Scotland and Fife constituency is home to the last unlicensed racetrack in Scotland, secured the required support to table a Private Member’s Bill in support of a ban. The Proposed Prohibition of Greyhound Racing (Scotland) Bill has been introduced to the Scottish Parliament and seeks to promote the welfare of the animals by introducing an offence of permitting a greyhound to compete at racetracks in Scotland.