UK Edition
Greyhound racing: an industry in terminal decline?
The greyhound racing in Australia is in shock after the New South Wales government voted last week to ban the sport completely, and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Chief Minister Andrew Barr stated that greyhound racing would be also banned in the ACT. These dramatic and unexpected decisions were taken following a shocking television documentary which showed the widespread use of illegal “live baiting” as a training technique, and a subsequent state government Commission of Enquiry found evidence of other serious welfare issues in the sport. The NSW Premier Mike Baird took a hard line, stating that the "widespread and systemic mistreatment of animals" can not be tolerated. The states of Queensland and Victoria may now follow suit, and there have been calls on the Federal government for an Australia-wide ban on greyhound racing.
Greyhound tracks are closing down all over the world
These events have major global implications for an industry which is already in trouble. Greyhound racing is only legal in eight countries: UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, USA, Vietnam, China and Mexico, and even in these localities, it's in decline. Only 19 greyhound tracks remain in the US, in six states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa & West Virginia. The last greyhound track in Texas closed on 1 January 2016, and two months ago, Arizona became the 40th state in US to ban Greyhound racing. The only track in China (in Macau) is expected to close within the next two years.
Can the UK greyhound industry survive?
So what lies ahead for greyhound racing in the United Kingdom? Greyhound racing has taken place here since the 1920's. Despite a long term decline in the sport’s popularity, it continues to draw crowds, generating a £1.3 billion off-course turnover for bookmakers in 2014. There are 24 racing tracks licensed by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB), as well as five independent or ‘flapper’ tracks, with around 15,000 greyhounds actively racing
Many of the same issues that caused the furore in Australia also cause concerns here. The UK government has been paying close attention to the industry: the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010 were introduced to deal with animal welfare concerns, and a House of Commons Report on their efficacy was published earlier this year.
The biggest concern in the UK is “disappearing” greyhounds
The most shocking aspect of the Australian scandal was “live baiting”, where piglets, rabbits and possums were tied to the “lure” on a training track before being chased, then killed, by greyhounds, an illegal technique known as “blooding”, reputed to make greyhounds run faster. Many trainers condemned this practice in filmed interviews, but they were then caught doing it, on secret video footage. It was this public denial followed by private, secret cruelty which led to the universal public outrage against the sport.
There has been no reliable evidence of live baiting in the UK industry, and the main welfare issue is the euthanasia of healthy greyhounds no longer required for racing. The Greyhound Forum, which represents eight major dog charities, estimates that 3,700 of a total 9,000 retired greyhounds are ‘unaccounted for’ every year. While some of these dogs may be unable to be rehomed because of their temperament (and so may need to be euthanased), and some will have stayed with their owners as long term pets, there's a widespread concern over the many that are euthanased for convenience simply because they're not useful any more, an issue that even the Society of Greyhound Veterinarians has commented on. To put this into context, outside the greyhound world, around 5000 unwanted stray dogs are euthanased annually by UK local authorities. The fact that suspected euthanasias of greyhounds alone account for almost this number again is shocking.
Could the NSW decision be a “tipping point”?
The UK greyhound industry is currently self-regulating, via the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB), but this is not certain to continue. The recent Commons report concluded that “it is vital that the industry demonstrates capacity to initiate welfare reform without legislative compulsion if it wants to stay self-regulated.” Can the GBGB come up to this challenge? And if not, could we be witnessing the final years of greyhound racing in the UK?