Responding to today’s Senedd debate in relation to the recent Petitions Committee report, Mark Bird, CEO of the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB), said: “We note today’s debate and thank those Senedd Members who have willingly and openly engaged with us and have been open to hearing all sides of the debate. Animal welfare is an emotive issue and animal activist campaigners are extremely well funded and well organised to target those who do not share their agenda. So we thank those publicly speaking out against this for encouraging balance in the debate.
“What is clear from today’s debate is that inaccurate, unevidenced and misleading information has been shared with Senedd Members in advance of the proceedings. Whilst we accept that people will hold their own opinions, we believe all such debate should rely on robust data and evidence rather than myths and generalisations.
“We strongly welcome the Minister’s assertion therefore that, as we would all hope and expect, any subsequent consultation must be carried out in a reasoned and appropriate way, based on evidence. This is clearly a wider consultation on animal welfare and should be considered as such, rather than allowing the agendas of some activists to steal headlines through untruths and thus unduly influence policy. The role of this consultation must be to remove the emotion, innuendo and myth and look at what is genuinely both in the best interests of animals and consistent across all animal welfare issues.
“To suggest that greyhound racing stands apart from other popular activities involving animals – whether horseracing, show jumping, gymkanas or dogs shows, let alone working dogs and livestock – is naïve. Our view of course remains that greater regulation of greyhound racing in Wales is the right and obvious way to protect welfare and we will continue to work with Members and officials in whatever way we can towards securing this.”
