A question: Why do we need to race one greyhound against another? The answer: we don't need to. It exists and continues to happen solely for the financial benefit of a few people. For this, greyhounds endure suffering and sacrifice which, far too often, can cost them their lives. Greyhounds are a very gentle breed of dog who, in the domestic environment, require only moderate exercise. During their racing lives they may provide a monetary benefit to their owners or trainers. But once this has ended, that benefit turns into a cost to the owners and, except in the minority, they are disposed of by various means including offloading to rescue charities or even put to a brutal death by their keepers. Mass graves containing dozens of corpses have even been found. The entire practice of breeding greyhounds purely to race during their short lives for the financial gain they may provide to their keepers needs to be confined to history.
Within the framework of the Animal Welfare Act 2006, it is an offence to cause unnecessary suffering and cruelty to an animal. Is it necessary that greyhounds should sustain often severe injury through enduring dozens, sometimes hundreds, of racing events? Is this not also cruelty? Or is this somehow a loophole in the law?
Rescue charities have been reporting a crisis in finding new homes and owners for former racing greyhounds which hugely impedes the fantastic work which they do. There should never exist the need whatsoever to rehome unwanted former racing greyhounds. This is where the complete banning of greyhound racing comes into play. Since around 1940, almost 70% of greyhound stadiums have closed down. There are now just 25 still operating in the UK. We live in a more enlightened era. Greyhounds should not be made to wait another 70 years. Making animals perform solely for the benefit of a persons selfish gain is cruel. This cruelty must stop this year.
