THERE ARE GREYHOUNDS IN WALES
SUFFERING. THE WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT HAS THE
POWERS TO INTRODUCE LEGISLATION TO BETTER
PROTECT THEM – TAKE ACTION NOW PLEASE
Greyhound Rescue Wales has been
working with the National Assembly since 2003 to
secure legislation to protect greyhounds in
Wales. Good progress has been made and after
seven years work detailed proposals are now
ready. We believe these will give greyhounds in
Wales the protection they deserve.
The National Assembly for Wales
has the power, under the Animal Welfare Act
(2006), to introduce regulations to protect
greyhounds in Wales. Dogs Trust, Greyhound
Rescue Wales and the RSPCA are urging people
living in Wales to join us in our urgent call
for new legislation. The campaign officially
began on February 23rd at the Senedd when all
Assembly Members were asked to sign the petition
below, calling on the Welsh Government to act.
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PETITION TO THE WELSH
ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT
We the undersigned are
concerned that racing greyhounds in
Wales are not currently protected by any
statutory regulations. We acknowledge
that many owners care well for their
greyhounds. However, Greyhounds racing
in Wales are not currently protected in
law and significant numbers are killed
or abandoned when they cease to race, or
indeed, are disposed of before their
racing career starts.
We support the welfare
organisations’ call on the Welsh
Assembly Government to introduce
effective regulations, in 2010, to
protect greyhounds, before, during, and
after their racing career.
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We must now show that there is
widespread public support for these proposals
and GRW is calling on our members to take the
lead in this.
WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW
1) Sign the petition yourself – it is being
hosted by the All Party Group for Animal Welfare
at the Assembly so go to
www.apgawwales.org
Please do this as soon as you have read
this leaflet!
2) Email all your friends and ask them to sign
it - please do this straight away too.
3) Please write to your Assembly Members and ask
them to act to protect greyhounds in Wales now.
Assembly Members are easy to contact and they
pay attention to the letters and emails they
receive. To find out who your Assembly members
are visit.
www.assemblywales.org
Assembly members are elected
under proportional representation so you will
have one Constituency member and four Regional
members. You can write to all of these if you
like as they all represent you at the Senedd.
You will find some key points you can use in
your letter overleaf. Thank you – on behalf of
the greyhounds!
SOME POINTS YOU CAN USE
Greyhounds Need Protection: significant numbers
of greyhounds meet unacceptable fates when they
are no longer able to win races. A 2003 study
(1) found that 140 greyhounds were abandoned and
entered dog pounds in Wales in a 12 month
period, costing Local Authorities £30,000 per
year. A later report (2) found that about 100
greyhounds were being shot by their owners in
Wales each year. Although only one greyhound
track remains open in Wales today it is still
likely that at least 100 greyhounds meet an
unacceptable fate each year in Wales.
Remember Last Hope! “Last Hope (also known as
“Rusty”) was found on a mountainside in
Caerphilly Borough on May 2nd, 2004. He had been
shot through the head, and his ears had been cut
off to remove tattoos that could have identified
his owner. He was still alive when found, after
undergoing terrible suffering. Legislation is
needed to make sure no other greyhounds suffer
in this way.
Action is needed now. The remaining Welsh track
is independent which means that the welfare of
dogs is not protected by regulations. The
Westminster Government aims to regulate
independent tracks in England in April 2010. A
requirement for a vet to be present at races is
likely to close most of the 6 remaining English
independent tracks. Should Wales fail to
introduce regulations within a short time of
England we will be open to the establishment of
new unregulated tracks. Greyhounds retiring from
English tracks will also, inevitably be offered
at low cost to any unscrupulous owners racing
dogs here. This will increase the turnover of
dogs and consequently the number of greyhounds
abandoned or killed in Wales – more “Last
Hopes”!
The Assembly has the necessary powers under the
Animal Welfare Act 2006.
Most of the work has been done: GRW, Dogs Trust
and the RSPCA have agreed the broad outline of
regulations with the Welsh tracks. These were
published in 2007 as “A Better Bet for
Greyhounds (2). Since 2007 the welfare
organisations have worked with WAG officials to
fine tune these proposals. We have completed our
share of the work. A detailed, proportionate and
affordable mechanism, the broad principles of
which have been agreed by the key stakeholders
now exists. WAG now has a unique opportunity to
introduce regulation relatively easily and
quickly. It is now time for WAG to act.
The remaining path to regulation: we urge the
Welsh Assembly Government to:
1) To consult on the regulatory
model outlined in “A Better Bet for Greyhounds”
and subsequently refined by the welfare
organisations working with WAG Officials.
2) To introduce regulations and a code of
conduct to assure the welfare of greyhounds in
Wales before the end of 2010.
References(1) The Fate of racing greyhounds and
working lurchers in Wales, All Party Group for
Animal Welfare at the National Assembly for
Wales in association with Greyhound Rescue
Wales, 2003.
(2) A Better Bet for Greyhounds,
Wales Greyhound Forum, 2007.
More information is available at
www.greyhoundrescuewales.co.uk/aboutus-
click on “the scale of the problem” and “the
nature of the problem”.
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