Without question, the most pro-greyhound racing discussion ever to have taken place in Parliament took place this afternoon writes Floyd Amphlett.

The Select Committee meeting into various matter relating to animal welfare was chaired by Neil Parish MP, who had previously overseen the compilation of the injury and euthanasia data by GBGB. At the time, he also wrote a strong letter to, then minister Tracey Crouch, demanding greyhound racing should be offered a levy.

The main witness was David Rutley MP, the Government Minister for Animal Welfare and Food.

Having heard of developments including the the GBGB’s Greyhound Commitment, Parish launched into a tirade at the off-course betting industry, and was heavily critical of the 0.6% contribution to greyhound racing.

He said: “The online gaming I think are offering around 0.6% which nets around £3 million to re-homing and looking after injured greyhounds. So that gives them 99.4% of their income which is huge , so spend on something else. If greyhound racing didn’t take place, they wouldn’t make any money at all.

“It’s just crazy that they don’t give more I very much welcome what GBGB want to do, that the greyhounds which are uneconomic to actually have veterinary care, their injuries looked after and rehabilitated, that should not happen.But it should be paid by these on-line gamers. Its a crazy world.

“There is plenty of money in the industry, its just not getting back to the racetracks, to the kennels, all of the facts that makes greyhounds and keep it being done properly, and they are all working hard, and I am absolutely, probably because I am not a great lover of gambling in the first place. But I also think this is a crazy world, where they are making far too much money out of people’s misery on gambling, and its not getting back to the greyhounds who create the wealth for them in the first place.

“And I know its not directly your responsibility minister, but I really would like you to work with DCMS to make sure that we really get this sorted because three million, 0.6% is just not enough. In horse racing is it one, or one and a half percent? They should be paying that sort of money at the very least because, otherwise they make no money at all.

“They must not make money out of misery. Because there are lots of people in this country who would like to close down greyhound racing. I don’t want to do that. But I do want to see it properly policed, properly looked after, and these greyhounds properly re-homed.

“And if they are injured, and its going to cost a lot of money to put them right, there should be the money to do that, rather than have them euthanased. I think we really have got to work even harder than we are. We are going in the right direction, but we need to do more.”

(Rutley – “I agree”)

Parish: “Well are you going to do something about it?”

GBGB’s Mark Bird described Parish’s performance as “incredible”

Check out the link

https://www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/ad5058eb-3cba-41d4-9154-624770c6f628

The greyhound debate starts at around 15.30 and continues for a little over ten minutes.