Together with 8 other animal protection organisations based across Scotland, England and Wales, OneKind is calling for an end to the cruel greyhound racing industry. This outdated form of entertainment causes a range of welfare issues for dogs:

Inadequate kennel conditions

Many greyhounds used by the racing industry are kept in kennels, in conditions which do not allow the dogs to thrive. In the worst instances, dogs can live in dank, dirty kennels, suffer from untreated wounds and injuries, receive inadequate veterinary care, and be shouted at or roughly treated. The dogs may also be constantly muzzled.

Doping

Greyhound Board of Great Britain’s records show that dogs in the racing industry have been doped with performance-enhancing drugs, including class A substances such as cocaine. Research has shown that the adverse effects of cocaine in dogs include neurological and muscular abnormalities, increased heart rate, convulsions/seizures, weakness, vomiting and lethargy.

Overbreeding

Thousands of puppies are bred to supply a racing pool across the UK. However, not all of these dogs will make the racing grade and thus some will be superfluous to the needs of the industry. Not all greyhounds will be passed to rehoming centres. Sadly, some may be killed instead.

It is also clear that the Scottish public do not support this cruel industry. One poll revealed that the majority of Scots (60%) want to see the Scottish Government take action to put an end to greyhound racing.