Carly Philpott has resigned as a Greyhound Ambassador in response to GBGB allowing racing to take place on Bonfire Night.
She said: “It is a matter of principle. I realise that racing has always been allowed but some greyhounds are badly affected by the fireworks and I think it contravenes the spirit of the Greyh0und Commitment which I fully believe in.
“I realise not everyone shares my opinion. In fact my dad has runners at Henlow tonight. His view is, ‘I will abide by the rules’ and while I don’t agree with him, I can accept it. In fact, I don’t even have a problem with the tracks themselves. It should be up to GBGB to insist that they cannot race and that is the reason for my decision.
“To be fair to GBGB, they have done an incredible job with welfare and I have always supported them, but as I said, I can’t stand by and watch this happen.”
Last week, ARC announced they would not allow racing at their tracks with a long term commitment to a November 5 ban.
GBGB CEO Mark Bird responded: “I very much have sympathy with Carly’s position, and I fully understand her reasons for stepping down as a Greyhound Ambassador. Each year, as a sport, we are faced with the issue of fireworks. I am personally against them entirely, as any pet owner knows they cause undue distress, not only to dogs but to all animals both domestic and wild.
“It is sadly not as simple as GBGB mandating a ban on this day and believe me when I say that we have had many long debates on this subject. Whilst GBGB strongly recommends via our Fireworks Policy that racing is not held on this date or is rescheduled to an earlier time, we cannot, from a regulatory perspective, suspend racing. The decision of whether to race or not is currently down to our individual tracks and I applaud ARC and Entain on their decision to move their Friday night meetings this year. On this basis, I am therefore somewhat surprised that SIS have rescheduled their Central Park meeting to Henlow and Doncaster for this evening.
“ARC has gone further and has committed to never race on the 5th – ideally, this would be a decision that each one of our tracks comes to of their own volition. It demonstrates to the public that our commitment to welfare always comes first and foremost. I know that the vast majority of stakeholders in our sport would support the tracks in this decision – this is shown by the many owners and trainers who have taken the step to ask that their greyhounds do not race this weekend.
“It is not, however, a clear-cut issue. As Kevin Hutton stated in the Racing Post today, it is not just a question of the 5 November itself. This year, with it falling on a Friday we are likely to see events or private celebrations this Saturday too. Likewise, when Bonfire Night falls on a weekday you are likely to have events on the weekends on either side. Added to that Diwali celebrations and you have a period of two weeks where there is a high chance of fireworks.
“While I understand that some tracks are in less-populated areas and are therefore their runners are at less risk, this does not reduce the risk entirely. It is an issue that I believe, as an industry, we must show that we are serious about. Bonfire night and fireworks are, sadly, not going away anytime soon and, as a sport, we must be clear about our shared position.
“Finally, I would like to say thank you to Carly for all the hard work she has put in as a Greyhound Ambassador. I am sad to see her step down and I know this is not decision is not one she will have made lightly. She has been an enthusiastic and dedicated member of the group and most recently been involved with the successful meet and greets with retired greyhounds as Towcester.”
