Greyhound Board of Great Britain Statement - Senedd Vote to Ban Greyhound Racing

The GBGB respond to the Senedd's decision 

A vote taken in the Senedd yesterday passed the bill to ban greyhound racing in Wales. 

Mark Bird, CEO of the Greyhound Board of Great Britain, said: 

“This Bill has disgraced the ethical and legislative processes from start to finish. 

“All legislators and voters should be alarmed by the repeated failures in public consultation, evidence gathering and overall due diligence in the pursuit of this misguided Bill. 

“First, the Welsh Government acted against officials’ advice showing that there was insufficient evidence and consultation to justify a ban on greyhound racing. 

“Then, they proceeded in the face of two damning cross-party Committee reports which warned of exactly the same concerns.

 “Now, the Welsh Government has decided to press on with their rushed legislative timetable even while judges consider whether it is lawful, as part of the ongoing Judicial Review process. 

“From the very beginning, the Welsh Government had the choice to opt for a regulated industry – one which upholds high standards of welfare and provides far greater protections for its racing greyhounds than for any domestic pet dog. The only thing this Bill will do is destroy people’s jobs, family-run businesses and community touchpoints not to mention cause significant loss to the Welsh economy.   

“Valley Greyhound Stadium has invested around £2million in upgraded veterinary, kennelling and track facilities, all while offering employment and economic vitality for a community that needs it. Anyone who has visited the track knows how deeply trainers, kennelhands and owners love their greyhounds and the lengths they go to in caring for and raising happy, healthy greyhounds. 

“We remain resolute in our fight against this Bill process and await the court judgements.”

The Culture Committee which heard evidence November of last year gave this as their judgement.

"The Committee is concerned that the Welsh Government has relied heavily on the headline figures from the 2023 consultation to suggest that there is a strong level of public support in Wales for prohibiting greyhound racing. We note that the consultation was not primarily focused on this specific proposal, and that it relied on a self-selecting methodology, which is inherently vulnerable to bias and does not provide a representative measure of public opinion. 

"This approach, combined with the volume of duplicate responses, undermines the robustness of the evidence base for legislative decisions. In our view, further meaningful and targeted consultation should have taken place alongside the development of a robust evidence base before a decision was taken to legislate."

The fight is ongoing with the The Welsh High Court in Cardiff sitting on Tuesday and Wednesday last week to hear the GBGB's Judicial Review case against the Welsh Ministers regarding their decision to ban greyhound racing. The judges on the case were Lord Justice Lewis and Lord Justice Chamberlain. The judgment is expected to be handed down between March 23 and April 7.