Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on how many greyhounds were retired from racing on the grounds of injury in each of the last five years.

George Eustice

Under the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010, there is no statutory requirement on any greyhound organisation or individual track to report any figures to Defra. The Regulations have now been in force for five years and Defra is currently undertaking a review of their effectiveness. The review is looking at the requirement on tracks to collect injury statistics and how they are then used; and the traceability of greyhounds after they have left the sport. Defra is currently consulting on the initial findings of the review as well as proposals for further action. Further proposals include agreement by the main industry regulator, the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB), to begin publishing figures for the numbers of greyhounds injured at GBGB affiliated tracks each year, as well as the number of greyhounds that leave GBGB racing each year.