SOME of you may suspect this already . . . but today will confirm it as fact. This column is going to the dogs.
Take a deep breath there. Trust me, it’s not a case of a lack of quality.
It’s just that the spotlight is falling on this week’s announcement in The Senedd (Welsh Parliament) that Wales will soon become the first nation in the UK to ban greyhound racing.
At the risk of offending some dear readers, I will try and give my verdict on the ban in what can be described as ‘short form’ and ‘long form’.
Short form first – It’s bonkers.
Long form next – It’s bat-poo bonkers . . . and I’ll explain why.
Call me old-fashioned, but many (probably misguided) folk in Wales have been living under the assumption that the 60 members we elected to The Senedd would concentrate on the important things in Welsh life.
You know the sort of thing . . . fixing the Welsh NHS and (er) giving us an education service which is the envy of the world, to name just two issues which are important to the man (and woman) in the street.
Instead, we get some random bits of policy which appear to be steered by ‘shouty’ minority groups.
As far as the greyhound racing ban goes, Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies made the announcement in the wake of a petition to ban the sport in Wales.
Apparently, the petition received more than 35,000 signatures. Please note, dear readers, that the population of Wales is more than 3.2million, so you can see how it is possible for a community, say, the size of Port Talbot to steer the agenda in The Senedd.
Apparently, the above-mentioned petition resulted in a Welsh Government consultation which received more than 1100 responses (roughly equal to the size of Grovesend near Gorseinon), with two-thirds being in favour of the ban.
Huw Irranca-Davies told colleagues in The Senedd: “I believe that now is the right time to move to ban greyhound racing in Wales.
“There will be work to do in ensuring the dogs, their owners, and those involved in the industry around the racetrack, can wind down from this activity while still protecting the welfare of dogs currently within the industry, the local community and the local economy.”
The Welsh Government consultation, which ran between December 2023 and March 2024, found that around 50 per cent of people supported the idea of banning greyhound racing in Wales.
When asked if they supported the introduction of a phased approach to outlawing greyhound racing:
- 667 (64.69%) were in favour of introducing a phased ban. 375 (36.37%) were individual responses and 292 (28.32%) were from the League Against Cruel Sports.
- 259 (25.12%) were against a phased ban
- 105 (10.18%) were undecided
Those in support of the ban cited reasons of animal welfare and a belief that the industry is ‘unethical’. Key issues included injuries to animals, overbreeding, and a desire to prevent unnecessary suffering and deaths.
Respondents who opposed the ban argued it would have a negative economic and cultural impact, with many worried that this would set the precedent for banning other animal sports, such as horse racing.
Meanwhile, it might be worth considering how much Welsh Government time, effort, paperwork and money has been spent on this issue . . . particularly when you consider that Wales only has one licensed greyhound racing track (a stadium in Ystrad Mynach employing more than 30 people on site).
The Chief Executive of the Greyhound Board of Great Britain, Mark Bird, responded to the Welsh Government announcement as follows –
“This announcement has nothing to do with greyhound welfare and everything to do with pressure from the extreme animal rights movement.
“The Welsh Government’s own summary of consultation responses highlighted the lack of evidence to support the case for a ban on the sport. This summary made clear there has been a coordinated campaign against licensed greyhound racing, seeking to drown out the voice of local people including those whose livelihoods rely on the sport.
“Questions should be asked as to why, despite repeated requests, the minister has failed to meet with the industry in Wales.”
DragonBet co-founder James Lovell, a major bookmaker in Wales, said: “There’s a real concern that this well-intentioned but misguided policy will be the thin end of the wedge in terms of other sports where dogs compete.
“And I find it frightening that such a decision could be made based on optics* and an attempt to appease the extreme animal rights groups, rather than considered and evidential welfare grounds.”
Perhaps the lack of ‘welfare evidence’ is the biggest (and most damning) issue for the Welsh Government as it pursues this piece of legislation.
Indeed, one greyhound racing commentator this week put forward the following view – “There are absolutely no welfare grounds for doing this. In fact, I would say it will have the opposite effect, as without a greyhound industry owners will not be able to afford to feed their greyhounds.”
Of course, the other factor which will worry sports fans throughout the land is, Where will it all end?
A ban on greyhound racing today? Tomorrow, a ban on fishing, shooting, horse racing, showjumping?
Why not go the whole hog and ban anything that involves animals? Dog shows? Agricultural shows?
Some of us are old enough to remember the days when there was greyhound racing at the old Arms Park (the home of Welsh rugby). Others will recall greyhound stadiums at Skewen and two tracks at Fforestfach, Swansea – one at White City and one at Ystrad Road.
As with any sport, the public can vote with their feet when it comes to deciding whether to support it or not.
Perhaps you can see a bigger example of that in declining (and very worrying) attendance figures for rugby in Wales.
Which brings me to my final point – if claims of cruelty and welfare are behind the ban on greyhound racing, surely there must be some appetite in The Senedd to investigate the hardship currently being experienced by the average rugby fan in Wales?
*Optics = the way a situation, action, event, etc is perceived by the public or by a particular group of people.
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