Both Scotland Wales earlier this month announced historic bans on greyhound racing.
In Scotland, the Scottish Parliament in March backed the landmark bill Greyhound Racing (Offences) (Scotland) Bill.
The draft for the bill was proposed back in 2024 and aimed at promoting the welfare of greyhounds by introducing an offence of permitting a greyhound to race at racetracks in Scotland.
The bill was proposed by Scottish MSP (member of Scottish parliament) Mark Ruskell.
In the official report, published 18 March, Ruskell said, “Tonight, Scotland can ban greyhound racing for good. We will be a better, more compassionate country for that. Let us do this for the dogs. Let us pass the Greyhound Racing (Offences) (Scotland) Bill.”
According to Ruskell, since the industry started recording figures in 2017, there have been nearly 4,000 deaths and 35,000 injuries across the UK.
“Too many dogs are injured and die as a result of racing on tracks in the UK,” Ruskell said at the time in the draft proposal. “The inherent risks of racing greyhounds on tracks at high speed have not gone away. Given the weight of evidence, I believe it is now time to follow many other jurisdictions around the world and to end greyhound racing for good.”
Ruskell explained that racing greyhounds at speeds of up to 40 miles per hour on an oval track results in catastrophic injuries and deaths.
“The dogs slow down as they enter the first bend, bunching together and crashing as they jostle for position,” Ruskell continued. “Centrifugal forces pull the dogs towards the outside of the track, resulting in crashes on the fence. Dogs break their legs, break their backs and end up paralysed and with serious head trauma. I am sickened by the images from racetracks that show deaths and injuries day in, day out on social media. It is time that that stops.”
When the bill passed, Ruskell said that ‘Greyhound racing belongs in the past’.
In 2015, Ruskell and his family rehomed an ex-racing greyhound called Bert.
“He sadly passed away last year, he was a wonderful dog, kind and affectionate and so patient with kids and even with cats,” Ruskell said. :”But what I didn’t fully understand, until I started working on this campaign, was the trauma that Bert had endured while racing.”
“Over the course of my bill I have spoken to dozens and dozens of dog owners with greyhounds like Bert, gentle souls who had been scarred. I also heard about the patient work of re-homers across Scotland to bring these dogs into their lives and heal them,” Ruskell added.
The ban on Greyhound racing follows a similar move in Wales in March which saw the Welsh Parliament (Senedd) voting in favour of protecting greyhounds from the dangers associated with racing.
The Welsh bill will prohibit greyhound racing with a transition period allowing the industry to wind down responsibly, strengthen rehoming arrangements for retired greyhounds, and prepare enforcement bodies and local authorities for the change which will see the prohibition brought into effect between 1 April 2027 and 1 April 2030.
“Wales is a progressive nation, committed to ethical standards and forward-thinking legislation. This Bill strengthens our reputation as a leader on animal welfare and delivers the standards that the people of Wales rightly expect,” Huw Irranca-Davies, deputy first minister with responsibility for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, said in the Welsh release.
Dogs Trust, which has campaigned against Greyhound racing, said it was delighted that the Welsh and Scottish Governments have both voted to ban this cruel and outdated practice. “We’ll now be working hard to make sure the rest of the UK follows suit,” Dogs Trust said.
Finlay Carson, a conservative MSP in Scotland, said the ban will not improve the welfare of a single greyhound in Scotland. “There is no active track nor on-going racing, yet we are being asked to pass a total ban without ever exploring the very thing that has improved welfare in England and Wales, which is licensing, robust regulation and proper oversight,” Carson said in the report.
According to The BBC, there were once more than 20 greyhound racing tracks in Scotland, however now there are thought to be less than 30 greyhound racers left across the UK and with no active tracks north of the border, they have to travel to England, Wales or Ireland to race.
Ruskell noted that there will still be dogs who are kennelled and trained in Scotland and raced across the border when the bill becomes law. “It is for Westminster to end greyhound racing in England,” Ruskell added.