Time to end greyhound racing for good
Scottish Green MSP Mark Ruskell has urged MSPs from all parties to get behind his bill to ban greyhound racing in Scotland.
The call comes as the Rural Affairs and Islands committee in Holyrood is taking evidence on Mark’s bill, with Jim Fairlie, the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity, giving evidence on behalf of the government.
In August Mr Fairlie indicated that the government will be supporting Mark’s bill.
In April the Welsh Government announced that it would ban the cruel gambling-led sport as soon as practically possible, while New Zealand is making similar moves.
Mark said:
“This is a milestone moment for my bill, and I’m looking forward to working with MSPs from all parties to ensure that it is as robust as possible.
“There is no safe way to force dogs to run around an oval track at top speed and, despite years of industry promises, things are not improving.
“It is personal for me. I had a former racing greyhound called Bert who was a lovely and affectionate dog, but he still carried a lot of trauma and injury from his days of being made to race.
“No dog should be made to suffer for gambling industry profits, and I am determined to finally put a stop to it. I hope that our parliament will unite behind my bill.
“Greyhound racing is a cruel and dated sport that has no place in modern Scotland. We can and must seize the opportunity to end it for good.”
According to the RSPCA, there are only 9 countries in the world that still allow commercial greyhound racing, including all 4 UK nations.
Data from 2023 showed that 109 greyhounds died trackside in the UK, an increase on the number for 2022. There were 4,238 injuries to greyhounds during racing in 2023.