Animal protection charities say no amount of welfare commitments could reform or address the suffering of thousands of dogs forced to take part in racing.
LUCY CONNOLLY: ‘Almost 1,000 racing greyhounds died or were killed last year, prompting calls for an end to the sport in the UK. New figures released by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain show hundreds of dogs were ‘put to sleep’ in 2018 alone for various reasons, including the high cost of medical treatment. Part of an initiative to help improve welfare standards in greyhound racing, the figures have caused outrage among animal welfare charities who believe the sport cannot be reformed…
The Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) recognised these were ‘avoidable and unnecessary deaths’ and pledged to eradicate them from the sport. In what the organisation calls ‘The Greyhound Commitment,’ the GBGB promised to provide ‘an honest and accurate assessment of where our sport is doing well and where it needs to do more’. However, charities say no amount of welfare commitments could reform or address the suffering of thousands of dogs forced to take part in racing…
As charities continue to call for the end of the sport, there has been a sharp decline in the number of people attending – from 34 million attending per year 70 years ago to less than 2 million visitors a year now. By releasing these figures, GBGB is hoping to be more transparent about the work that’s being done to raise welfare standards across the industry, but animal welfare charities stress this is not enough’. SOURCE…
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