We are pleased to see that the Welsh Government has decided to implement a ban on greyhound racing in Wales. While greyhound racing in Wales has received a lot of media attention of late, the reality is that this outcome has been decades in the making. We want to pay tribute to the countless greyhound advocates who have worked tirelessly for many years to shine a spotlight on the industry and inform decision makers with independent evidence of the true impact that racing has on its dogs. This announcement could not come soon enough for greyhounds in and around Wales.
You won’t be surprised to hear that we have been planning for this moment for some time now and naturally people will want to hear what comes next for Greyhound Rescue Wales. In short, this is only the end of the beginning and there is so much more work to be done.
Firstly, whilst the end of greyhound racing in Wales is now in sight, the last year actually saw a rapid expansion in the number of dogs raced here. In the short term this will mean that there are more greyhounds than ever in need of rehoming. We are committed, along with our partner organisations, to ensuring that no dog is made homeless by the end to greyhound racing in Wales.
Next, there is a long road ahead in terms of the rest of the UK and Ireland. The huge backlog of racing greyhounds needing homes from these countries shows no signs of easing up while racing continues there, which means we will have a big part to play in continuing to find ex-racing greyhounds homes in Wales and the borders. We believe that work is going to need to continue for several years into the future, possibly even over a decade.
In the more distant future, there may be some questions we need to consider. For example, when greyhound racing eventually comes to an end in those countries, do we expand to rescue other sighthounds, or even non-sighthound breeds in future? As a membership-led organisation, these are the kinds of questions that we will put to our members for them to set our future vision and mission. Whatever the landscape of dog rescue in the future, our charity will continue to adapt and evolve to meet the challenges in front of us, working towards the direction set by our members and striving for the very best for our dogs.