Licensed Greyhound Racing continues to make strong progress on welfare as GBGB release 2018-2024 Injury/Retirement Data

Licensed Greyhound Racing continues to make strong progress on welfare as GBGB release 2018-2024 Injury/Retirement Data

Independently verified data proves the need for a statutory levy to secure long-term funding for greyhound welfare.

Licensed greyhound racing received an encouraging boost today following the publication of the track injury and retirement data for 2024.

The data, collated by the sport’s regulator, the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB), shows significant improvements on all metrics since 2018 – when the first set of annual data was published. 

The data, which is independently verified, covers all registered greyhounds racing at the 21 tracks licensed by GBGB in 2024. This year’s data provides unequivocal proof that the sport has made huge strides forward over the past six years. Most notably, it shows that:

 • Successful retirement rates continue to be high at 94% compared to 88% in 2018;

 • The track injury rate is the lowest it has ever been at 1.07%;

 • The track fatality rate has halved from 0.06% in 2020 to 0.03% in 2024; 

• The lowest number of greyhounds ever were put to sleep for economic reasons; in 2024, three greyhounds were put to sleep for this reason compared to 175 in 2018

The data for 2024 reflects the impressive step-change that has been achieved across the sport since the Greyhound Commitment was introduced in 2018. This Commitment, launched by GBGB, set out the regulator’s expectations for how the sport should be run with welfare at its heart. This was followed in 2022 by the sport’s long-term welfare strategy, ‘A Good Life for Every Greyhound’, which aimed to enhance welfare standards at every stage of a greyhound’s life. Initiatives introduced under the Strategy are now coming to fruition as reflected in this year’s data. This includes the impact of improved veterinary provision across the sport, more extensive education and training for all those caring for greyhounds and increased funding to help cover veterinary costs and costs associated with homing retired greyhounds. 

Whilst hugely encouraging, the data shows that further funding is needed to enhance welfare standards even further. At present, most bookmakers voluntarily pay 0.6% of their profits to support welfare but this is not enough to secure greyhound welfare in the long-term and it is vital that all bookmakers make a financial contribution. This is why GBGB, with support from across the sport, is calling on the government to introduce a statutory levy on bookmakers. This would mean that all bookmakers which accept bets on licensed greyhound racing would be required by law to contribute a small percentage of their profits to fund greyhound welfare – similar to the Horserace Betting Levy. This additional funding would enable GBGB to continue to drive welfare standards particularly around veterinary provision, homing efforts and research programmes into genetics, breeding and injury prevention. Click here to sign the petition calling on the UK Government to introduce a statutory levy on bookmakers to secure reliable funding for greyhound welfare. It takes 15 seconds!!

Commenting on the data, Mark Bird, Chief Executive of GBGB, said:

 “There is much to be pleased and encouraged by in this year’s data. It shows that the initiatives we have introduced in recent years are now embedded and are helping to consolidate the significant progress we have made since 2018 across all measures. I am particularly proud of the progress we have made around economic euthanasia. As a Board, we have been clear that putting a greyhound to sleep for economic reasons is unacceptable and I am pleased that we have reduced this by 98% since 2018. This is a fantastic achievement and is the result of the entire sport working together. 

“Whilst our retirement figures continue to be promising, GBGB recognises that trainers continue to take care of a large number of retired greyhounds in their residential kennels until a homing centre place becomes available. We appreciate the financial impact this has on trainers and I would like to thank them all for their ongoing commitment to their greyhounds even after they have retired from the track. 

“I want to thank everyone across the sport for the part they have played in driving welfare. We have launched a wide range of welfare initiatives which have required our trainers, owners and track staff to take on additional responsibilities towards our greyhounds. It is only because of their willingness and efforts that we have been able to achieve higher standards and I am very grateful for all they have done to support the Board as we have worked to ensure greyhounds receive the care and attention they deserve.” 

Jeremy Cooper, Chair of GBGB, said:

 “When I joined GBGB as Chair in 2018 shortly after the launch of the Greyhound Commitment, I was clear the sport needed to achieve significant improvements in welfare. As the former Chief Executive of the RSPCA, I wanted to make sure that the care and protection of our canine athletes became a priority for everyone working in the sport. 

“Thanks to the strategic vision of Professor Madeleine Campbell and the relentless drive and determination of our Board along with the support of our entire sport, we have placed welfare at the very heart of licensed racing. Year-on-year, we have seen improvements in a number of areas including track safety, veterinary provision and homing – improvements we have achieved with minimal funding from the betting industry. We have shown we have the will and the expertise to enhance standards but in order to achieve our welfare ambitions in full, it is now time for those who benefit financially from our sport to pay their fair share and provide further funding for welfare. 

“In the many discussions we have held with MPs, officials and our other stakeholders, there is a strong understanding of why this additional funding is urgently needed and the data published today supports our call for a statutory levy. We will therefore be writing to Ministers at the DCMS today renewing our call for a levy and explaining how it will directly benefit our racing greyhounds – as well as the thousands of people whose livelihoods depend on a thriving industry.

 “As I step down as Chair this summer, I would like to recognise the contribution of everyone across the sport for helping us achieve this impressive step change which means that racing greyhounds are now receiving the highest levels of care and protection than ever before. This is something we should be very proud of as a sport.” 

There are two links below to access the GBGB Injury/Retirement Data

The first link is a breakdown of the type of injuries that occurred and the breakdown of retirement data between 2018-2024

2018 - 2024 Injury Retirement Summary FINAL.pdf

The second link is again a breakdown of the type of injuries that occurred and the breakdown of retirement data, but also includes a commentary from the GBGB helping to explain the data and highlighting initiatives that have been introduced which have had an impact on the data.

Licensed Racing Track Injury and Retirement Data 2024 Commentary.pdf

Two of those initiatives are the IRS (Injury Retirement Scheme) and the GRS (Greyhound Retirement Scheme) and have been hugely beneficial to owners, trainers and the tracks themselves but come a cost.

The Injury Retirement Scheme provides veterinary treatment for career-ending orthopaedic injuries sustained at GBGB-licensed tracks. Since December 2018, almost £1.5 million has been paid out through the scheme.

The Greyhound Retirement Scheme provides funding to covering the costs associated with a retired greyhounds stay in a homing centre. Since it was launched in 2020, over £5.6 million has been paid to homing centres 

This shows the importance of Greyhound Racing receiving it's own levy. The more money that gets injected into the industry, the more money that gets put towards these and other future initiatives introduced by the GBGB.  Again, to sign the petition calling on the UK Government to introduce a statutory levy on bookmakers to secure reliable funding for greyhound welfare, then click here. It takes 15 seconds!!