So far this year, greyhounds have already suffered almost 300 'incidents' at Pelaw Grange Greyhound Stadium (1st January to 2nd August 2018). These incidents involved dogs:
* Colliding into each other
* Falling/being knocked over
* Smashing into the railings
* In some cases being unable to finish the race
The 256 collisions, the 22 falls/knocked over, and the one dog hitting the rails would have happened at speeds of up to 40mph. 10 dogs were unable to finish the race.
The Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB), which is the dog racing industry's self-governing body, released national figures showing the number of greyhound deaths and track injuries in 2017. The figures revealed that:
* 1,013 greyhounds died last year in the UK
*There were approx. 5,000 injuries at UK tracks last year
In 2017 it was revealed that a Pelaw Grange trainer, Mrs Pat Simpson, was keeping greyhounds in horrendous conditions on an allotment. She got a very brief suspension by the GBGB but was able to continue racing dogs a few weeks later and continues to do so at Pelaw Grange stadium.
Greyhounds have no real protection, and gambling on animals' lives has no place in modern society.
We have seen young children at the Pelaw Grange track. Gambling establishments are no place for children who, in addition to being introduced to the idea of gambling, are also being put at risk of seeing dogs suffering serious injuries before their innocent eyes.
It's time to close Pelaw Grange Greyhound Stadium down.
