The Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) published its 2017 injury and retirement/end of life data in March 2018 for the first time since racing was introduced in the UK in 1926. Although given to be complete at the time, the retirement and end of life data transpired by December to be “interim” because of a 6 month lag in “retirement” figures. The GBGB said it would publish updated, final statistics before the end of 2018. They noted that the injury figures (4,837 injuries out of 419,385 “dog runs”) would not change because they are reported in real time at the racetrack.
In the end the GBGB published its final retirement and end of life data in January 2019. The “final” stats showed: 1,100 greyhound deaths within racing in 2017 broken down as per the following tables:
|
GBGB 2017 “Retirement” Data |
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| Category |
Published March 2018 |
“Final” published Jan 2019 |
6 Month Lag |
| Retained by Owner/Trainer |
726 |
1,037 |
311 |
| Greyhound Trust / Charity |
4,536 |
5,184 |
648 |
| Homed by Owner/Trainer. Put to breeding |
1,129 |
1,440 |
311 |
| Total Homed/Retained |
6,391 |
7,661 |
1,270 |
|
GBGB 2017 End of Life Data |
|||
| Category |
Published March 2018 |
“Final” published Jan 2019 |
6 Month Lag |
| Killed: Treatment Costs/Poor Prognosis |
333 |
370 |
37 |
| Killed: No Home Found |
22 |
23 |
1 |
| Killed: Designated Unsuitable for Homing |
270 |
307 |
37 |
| Sudden Death |
55 |
56 |
1 |
| Put to Sleep: Trackside |
257 |
257 |
0 |
| Put to Sleep: Medical & Other |
30 |
30 |
0 |
| Terminal Illness |
28 |
36 |
8 |
| Natural Causes |
18 |
21 |
3 |
| Total End of Life |
1,013 |
1,100 |
87 |
Moreover, the CEO of the greyhound regulatory board is quoted as saying that there is a 5,000 “dog clog” languishing in trainers’ kennels whose fate after racing is still unknown. The published GBGB data is not explicit about these greyhounds.
5,000 “dog clog” – greyhounds languishing with an unknown fate
The statistics are heartbreaking, knowing that these poor, gentle greyhounds suffered in the name of gambling and entertainment. This is exploitation and we believe The League Against Cruel Sports is right to repeat its 2016 call for greyhound racing to be “consigned to the ranks of cruel sports which are no longer acceptable”. Please sign and share the petition demanding greyhound racing be phased out in the UK.