14 September 2007
We received a petition asking:
"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Stop allowing the racing greyhound industry to abandon/murder their dogs if they become unable to race. All dogs should be entitled to a pain free and happy retirement this may mean a limit to the amount bred each year."
Details of Petition:
"At the present time thousands of unwanted racing greyhounds are abandoned or killed in the most disgusting ways. If they become unable to race and therefore, useless to their owners.These dogs are bred and imported from other places in their thousands every year and very few get the kind home (after racing) that they deserve. Many sustain serious injuries earning thousands of pounds for greedy people who simply throw them out or murder them as they become unable to run. In my opinion they should be treated in the same way as all other dogs and not differently because they are earning money. If this was happening to police animals there would be a public outcry. I suspect it goes unchallenged because of the huge revenue raised every year through the betting industry! Surely some money should be spent on looking after these lovely creatures into a retirement or at the very least preventing so many from being born in the first place."
Read the Government’s response
The Government has always believed animal welfare to be a serious issue and we are constantly striving to ensure that our legislation reflects this and protects animals from suffering.
The most recent piece of legislation in this area is the Animal Welfare Act 2006 which came into effect on 6 April 2007. We believe this Act to be a milestone as it brings together and modernises welfare legislation relating to farmed and non-farmed animals, some of which dates from 1911.
The Act places a duty of care for the first time on those who own or are responsible for non-farmed animals. Therefore, it is now an offence to cause any commonly domesticated vertebrate animal unnecessary suffering. The Act also makes it an offence to fail to meet the welfare needs of any animal under the care of man. It will mean that, where necessary, those responsible for the enforcement of welfare laws can take action if an owner is not taking all reasonable steps to ensure the welfare of their animal, even if it is not currently suffering.
The Act also provides powers to regulate animal related activities, or update existing licensing schemes, through secondary legislation such as greyhound racing. Defra’s preference is for the industry itself to continue to take responsibility for seeing that the regulations and any supporting code are enforced in those tracks that race under Rules set by the National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC). However, we fully understand the concerns as to whether the industry is fit for purpose in undertaking regulatory work. Defra ministers have met representatives of the industry and stressed that unless there is a much more modern, open and auditable approach by the industry, then Defra will use the new powers in the Animal Welfare Act to appoint an external, independent regulator.
Defra believes that the bare minimum the industry needs to deliver - and deliver quickly - to demonstrate sufficient progress is:
- To appoint more stipendiary stewards. It is clear that more stewards, whose responsibility it is to inspect all licensed premises, are required.
- To have in place or expect to have in the very near future the UK Accreditation Service (UKAS). UKAS accreditation provides an objective assessment of organisations offering regulatory services.
- To replace the name NGRC as this currently has a negative image and the use of the term ‘club’ suggests an exclusive closed shop.
We are pleased to say that the industry has taken these demands very seriously and we welcome their decision to set up an inquiry under Lord Donoughue - a former Agriculture Minister - to establish what should be done to ensure that the industry has in place an efficient, modern and respected regulatory body.
Defra has already set up a working group to examine the issue of greyhound welfare. The group has been asked to offer advice to Ministers and officials in the drafting of regulations to improve greyhound welfare. Members of the group include representatives of welfare organisations, the racing industry, local authorities, the devolved administrations and Defra.
In addition, the Associate Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare (APGW) has recently published its report on greyhound welfare. Lord Donoughue is also, in response to a request from the industry, looking at what the industry should do to improve the way that it polices welfare standards. He will publish his report later this year. We will obviously want to consider fully the recommendations these enquiries make when we draft any regulations.
We recognise that industry self-regulation may not be an option for those tracks that are not operating under the aegis of the NGRC. I can assure you that we would not recommend any system of regulation that does not set the same standards for both NGRC tracks and those that race independently of the NGRC. This is a key issue and clearly one which the working group will want to address in its recommendations.
There will be a full public consultation on our proposals for greyhound racing before approval by parliament. We have given parliament a firm commitment that the consultation will take place during 2008.
We believe that these actions will raise the welfare standards of greyhounds throughout their lives. I hope that this letter goes some way towards reassuring you that the Government believes it is essential to protect animals from harm. We will continue to strive to achieve the highest animal welfare standards possible both in the UK and abroad.