MP calls for ban on greyhound racing

Cat Eccles, MP for Stourbridge, said England should follow the lead of the Welsh government, which set out its plans to outlaw dog racing on Tuesday.

Miss Eccles said that in 2023, 109 dogs died at the side of the track and 4,238 were injured.

Hundreds more were cast aside and either destroyed by vets or handed over to animal charities to find new homes.

"This is a cruel, outdated 'sport' that belongs in the confines of history," she said.

"Racing at high speeds puts huge strain on a greyhound's body and there are concerns about poor welfare where greyhounds are often kept in dirty, damp conditions, with reports of some dogs being doped to improve performance.

"The popularity of greyhound racing has dwindled in recent years so let's end it once and for all. 

"I'll be campaigning with animal charities and organisations to ban greyhound racing."

Greyhound racing has taken place at Wolverhampton's Monmore Green Stadium since 1928.

In 2023 it was announced that the stadium would no longer host Wolverhampton Wolves Speedway Club meetings so that it could focus exclusively on greyhound racing.

On Tuesday the Welsh deputy first minister Huw Irranca-Davies announced plans to ban the sport 'as soon as practicably possible', but did not give a firm timetable.

He said it was 'not impossible' it could come in before the next Welsh Parliament election in May 2026.It followed cross-party calls for a ban, a government consultation and a petition that attracted 35,000 signatures.However, a UK-wide ban would be much more difficult to impose than in Wales, that has only one dog-racing track: the Valley Stadium in Ystrad Mynach.

Miss Eccles' call for a national ban is backed by the Dogs Trust, which said: ""Greyhound racing is inherently dangerous for the dogs involved, and running at speed around oval tracks causes significant injury to many dogs.

The RSPCA said a ban would protect dogs from the 'inherent risks that come with competitive racing'.

But the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB), which regulates the sport, said the announcement had 'nothing to do with greyhound welfare and everything to do with pressure from the extreme animal rights movement'.

It said the Welsh government had failed to meet the industry in Wales or its regulator, and said its own consultation 'highlighted the lack of evidence to support the case for a ban'.

Chief executive Mark Bird said: "We have engaged in the consultation process in good faith as regulator for the sport, but this statement is hugely disappointing."

The government in New Zealand also announced a ban in December.

Mr Irranca-Davies said: "I want a ban to come into force as soon as practicably possible.

"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."