Debunking the lies of Animal Aid

Contesting the latest anti-racing propaganda from Animal Aid

Earlier this month, Animal Aid launched their new and expensive campaign to end greyhound racing across the UK.

It started with a two-week advertising campaign on the London Underground, using graphics and language that anyone involved in greyhound racing will find extremely offensive.

Along with what is written about the sport on their website, Animal Aid’s claims are a dishonest representation of facts at best and outright lies at worst.

EFRA has repeatedly considered opposition to greyhound racing and found no grounds to ban it. However, Animal Aid’s disregard of facts and figures that oppose their stance is alarming in its attempt to mislead the general public.

A lot of their claims seem to be based on figures from the mid-to-late 20th century, which are massively out of date and, therefore, bear no relevance to current welfare standards.

Animal Aid consistently make false statements about racing greyhounds such as ‘the dogs endure suffering from cradle to grave’, which is simply unsubstantiated and untrue.

They widely use unsubstantiated quotes with no evidence to back up the claim. For example, one of the adverts on the underground reads:

"Meet Molly. Forced to race but never quite fast enough, abused and discarded like so many greyhounds."

A sweeping statement with nothing to back it up or proof that any of it is true. Animal Aid’s use of emotive and evocative language is misleading for the uneducated on the sport, but that is clearly their intention.

Here is a list of some of the claims found on their website, followed by some facts and figures to debunk them.

“Forcing dogs to race is widely recognised as cruel, with dogs routinely dying as a result of racing injuries or being discarded for heartless reasons like not meeting ‘adequate’ qualification time.”

• • Greyhound cannot be forced to race. They are bred to chase and enjoy nothing more than racing.

• • By whom is greyhound racing widely recognised as cruel? This is another generalisation with no factual or evidence-based backing, as is the phrase ‘routinely dying.’ What is routine about it?

• • Every dog has the chance to race, whatever their level of ability.

 "Reaching speeds of up to 45mph and navigating tight, unnatural curves puts extreme stress on their bodies."

• • The tracks are scientifically designed by experts in their field to ensure maximum safety for the greyhounds. For example, STRI Group, the team who supports the Wimbledon Championships’ world-famous lawn tennis courts, has been appointed to oversee the development of the new track at Dunstall Park in Wolverhampton. The firm specialises in the design construction and management of natural turf and artificial sports surfaces with more than 96 years’ experience. 

"(Following the ban proposed in Wales) It’s time for the rest of the UK to follow suit and end the barbaric ‘sport’ which has killed and destroyed more than 4,000 dogs since 2017 - some from fatal injuries, others because treatment was too costly."

• • More than 95% of ex-racers are rehomed, and the 5% includes those who die from natural causes plus those whose temperament makes them unsafe to rehome.

• • The number of track fatalities is 0.03%, considerably less than many other sports involving animals.

• • Thanks to the injury recovery scheme, racing greyhounds are not killed ‘because treatment was too costly.’

"Thousands of these dogs go ‘missing’ every year, dismissed by the industry as ‘'wastage'."

• Where is this evidence of this? There are around 150 litters of greyhounds bred in Britain each year which practically makes them an endangered breed, so it is not possible for ‘thousands to go ‘missing’ every year’.

• • Ex-racers do not 'disappear' - every greyhound that races is tracked to their retirement home (all are microchipped and ear tattooed) and each re-homing is verified via the Government's UKAS accreditation process.

"It is an industry requirement for every licensed race track to have a freezer to store the bodies of dead dogs."

• • Every vet’s room in the country is required to have a freezer, not just vets at greyhound racing tracks. They are not just for storing animal remains, but mainly to store temperature-sensitive medications.

• • Greyhound racing operates strict rules in terms of veterinary treatment, and no greyhound is allowed to race or trial without a vet in attendance.

"Between 2017 and 2024, more than 35,000 injuries were recorded."

• • The number of injuries per performance is 1.03% - of which the vast majority are non-serious and affect short-term performance and not long-term health. Since greyhounds consistently run to within 0.4 seconds over 500 metres, even a minor injury will affect form and, therefore, easily spotted. The vast majority of these injuries relate to muscle soreness and require a few days rest - no different to other athletes, including footballers, tennis players etc.

"Behind the scenes, greyhounds are routinely drugged – including with illegal substances like cocaine – to enhance performance and are confined to barren, often filthy kennels with minimal social contact, enrichment, or play."

• • There is no evidence of greyhounds being ‘routinely drugged’.

• • Greyhound kenneling and travelling are strictly monitored and subject to strict conditions.

• • Licensed kennels are closely monitored; they receive a minimum of two unannounced visits by GBGB Stipendiary Stewards each year as well as an annual veterinary inspection which examines all aspects of the greyhounds’ care, health and well-being.

The use of evocative language like describing ex-racing greyhounds as ‘survivors from the racing industry’ is purposefully written to portray an image of the sport that is simply untrue. 

No greyhound is a survivor of the racing industry and Animal Aid's claims against animals elsewhere in society are not consistent with their attack on greyhound racing. For example, it's estimated that 80,000 dogs are killed on UK roads every year, but Animal Aid are not accusing all of those owners of neglect or poor treatment of their pets.

As always, Animal Aid ends each article with a request for donations from its readers. The readers who donate would surely be expecting their money to go the welfare of all these greyhounds supposedly in need, not on lavish and expensive advertising campaigns such as this latest one.

If you, like all at Greyhound Racing UK, are appalled by these false claims and outright lies, we encourage you to lodge an official complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) via this link: www.asa.org.uk/make-a-complaint.html