The Greyhound Board of Great Britain has responded to the new Labour Party Animal Welfare Manifesto, which includes a section on the use of animals in sport, and specifically references greyhound racing.
It reads:
The lack of transparency around what happens to greyhounds after they are no longer fit for racing means that we anecdotally hear of many cases where healthy animals are needlessly destroyed. We must ensure all retired animals are properly cared for. 41. Issue best practice on responsible ownership and develop statutory minimum standards for racing and welfare.42. Introduce better mechanisms to trace ownership and implement a centralised database to record what happens to greyhounds after they are no longer fit to race. Regulations would be extended to Trainers’ Kennels, which are not included in the 2010 regulations.
In a letter to Sue Hayman MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, GBGB Managing Director Mark Bird has responded:
As part of your release today of the Labour Party Animal Welfare Manifesto, the Greyhound Board of Great Britain welcomes the Labour Party’s commitment to ensuring all retired greyhounds are properly cared for.
As part of our Greyhound Commitment, which sets out our expectations of how greyhound racing should be run with animal welfare at its heart, we have pledged to ensure that, wherever possible, every dog leaving racing enjoys a long and happy retirement. We work closely with our partner welfare charities to find suitable homes for all retired greyhounds and through our centralised database we are able to keep track of every registered greyhound from registration until retirement and beyond. Earlier this year, we announced the ambitious yet achievable target to halve the number of greyhounds being put to sleep on economic grounds within three years. Our ultimate aim is to bring this number down to zero.
As an organisation committed to accountability and transparency, we published annual injury and retirement data which is externally verified. This is shared with Ministers at Defra but we would also be happy to meet with members of the Shadow Cabinet to explain how we are achieving our vision of being a welfare-centric sport.
With a proud history and tradition in this country, British greyhound racing continues to evolve and innovate. We are pleased that, through our high welfare and integrity standards and our ambitions for the future, the sport remains popular and thriving – here and internationally – and continues to make a significant contribution to the British economy.”
