12 Feb 2024
An MSP who wants the sport banned claims current laws have failed to properly protect racing dogs, though the sport’s governors claim a ban will only increase the risks.
Allister Webb
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Image by Herbert Aust from Pixabay
A public consultation has been launched on proposals that could eventually lead to a ban on greyhound racing in Scotland.
Its future is already under scrutiny in Wales, where a separate consultation is due to end early next month amid increasingly vocal opposition to the use of animals in competition.
But the sport’s governing body, the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB), has claimed that a ban “would only jeopardise” the welfare of dogs.
The launch of the consultation, which will run until 1 May, represents the first stage of an initiative led by the Green Party MSP Mark Ruskell after he signalled his intention to table legislation in the Scottish Parliament last month.
The proposals advocate a specific offence to use or permit the use of greyhounds for racing with maximum penalties in line with existing animal welfare crimes.
The current plan, published in a new consultation document, seeks to make it a specific offence to use or permit the use of greyhounds for racing.
It envisages that a ban would come into force 12 months after a bill is passed in the Scottish Parliament to enable relevant activities to be wound down and efforts to be made to rehome dogs that owners and trainers choose not to keep themselves.
Mr Ruskell argued new measures were necessary because current legislation had failed to properly protect greyhounds’ welfare.
He wrote: “The inherent risks of racing greyhounds on tracks at high speed have not gone away.
“Given the weight of evidence, I believe it is now time to follow many other jurisdictions around the world and to end greyhound racing for good.”
But although the consultation has been welcomed by welfare groups, a GBGB spokesperson argued the process would replicate much of the ground covered by a recent Scottish Government exercise that also sought views on how the sport should be regulated.
She added: “As regulator for the licensed sector of our sport in Great Britain, we have been clear that greater regulation is the only way to safeguard greyhound welfare. A ban would only jeopardise welfare.
“We continue to work with the Scottish Government and others in Holyrood to show how a licensed sport can safeguard the welfare of racing greyhounds, and ensure they receive far more protection than domestic pets.”
Currently, only one greyhound racing venue is operating in Scotland. It is not licensed by the GBGB.
