ABOUT

​#CloseHoveDogTrack is a local group campaigning against the cruel greyhound racing industry. 

Dogs are suffering and dying at Coral - Brighton & Hove Greyhound Stadium.

You wouldn’t put your pet through this so why is it ok for greyhounds?

They also deserve to live natural lives in a loving forever home.

Dogs racing at high speeds, having a flutter and a few drinks may appear to be a harmless fun night out.

​But it’s certainly not fun or entertaining for the dogs.

Living in lonely kennels, racing and training injuries, drug abuse and neglect makes for a life of misery.

We believe that if the majority of people truly knew what the dog racing industry involved they’d agree

that there’s no place in our society for such a archaic blood sport disguised as entertainment.

OUR AIM

Raise awareness of this outdated industry.

Put an end to industry self-regulation.

Call for mandatory publication of injury records.

Demand the creation of a central database for tracking dogs from birth, to retirement, to death.

​A phasing out of the industry aiming for an eventual ban on all greyhound racing.

Between January - September 2018, 142 incidents have occurred on the Hove dog track.

4,837 dogs injured themselves across the UK in 2017 whilst racing. 
Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) / *EFRA Committee report 2016

10,000 dogs leave racing each year, the Retired Greyhound Trust homes just 3,000. Some of the remaining 7,000 are re-homed, but many are drowned, poisoned, shot and some are even sold for experiments/dissection.

Every track by law has to have a freezer for the dead dogs.

Tight corners on the racetracks cause regular collisions resulting in injury, broken bones and death.   It’s cheaper and legal for trainers/owners to kill dogs via a bolt gun to the head when injured, than pay for veterinary care.

Dogs are fed huge meals/given drugs so they lose races, as when they win the next race, betting odds increase and more money's made.

Recent cases have shown that cocaine is given to dogs to improve their racing performance.

Dogs are forced to run in extreme weather ranging from sub zero temperatures, to over 30ºC/86ºF like we had during the 2018 heatwave.  

Racing dogs have identifying tattoos on their ears, abandoned or killed dogs often have their ears cut off to hide the trainers identity.

The average retirement age for a greyhound is 3-4 years yet they can live for up to 16 years.

The number of pups killed each year that don’t make the grade as racers may be as high as 12,000. 
The Associate Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare 

FACTS
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Racing dogs that have served their purpose in the UK are often sent to China for breeding/racing and when they’ve served their purpose they’re susceptible to being sent to the dog meat trade where they’re horrifically slaughtered via unthinkable methods, such as being boiled alive.
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It's legal for racing dogs to be destroyed on economic grounds. The retirement form supplied by the industries official governing body Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) has a tick box for dogs to be destroyed on these grounds, and another tick box that allows for a dog to be destroyed if it’s not suitable to be re-homed as a pet.
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It’s legal for a greyhound trainer/owner to kill a dog using a Captive bolt gun which prevents a dog that is rendered unconscious from regaining consciousness. Pithing is also another method where the spinal cord is severed to ensure death.

According to welfare regulations, every track licensed dog track has to have a freezer to store dead greyhounds   It’s impossible to say whether the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) 2018 death data is accurate or not as unbelievably it’s not audited by an independent body with no vested interest in greyhound racing industry.  

Re-homing data supplied by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB)  includes dogs which are retained/exported therefore their data is not transparent.  

Racing dogs spend 95% of their lives in small, unwelcoming kennels without social contact, and those that are kept in pairs are constantly muzzled causing unimaginable distress. Dogs often suffer from fleas, worms, untreated injuries, malnutrition and dental issues, and actions against those responsible are ineffective.  

Badly designed dog tracks result in painful and lethal injuries, including broken backs and shattered limbs. Shockingly it’s lawful for the industry to keep their injury records secret.  

Dogs are forced to race in all conditions, be it sub zero weather, rain, snow, extreme summer temperatures over 30 degrees and during firework displays.  

Racetrack vets are employed by the track themselves and the industry and not independently monitored, therefore its inevitable that corruption is rife and backhanders take place.

Other than the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) there’s no complaints body specifically set up for the greyhound racing industry and because they’re UKAS accredited, if you’re not satisfied with actions, you can take complaints about them to UKAS, as long as you can substantiate your complaint and comply with their policies.  

In 2015, The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA) conducted a short inquiry into the welfare of racing greyhounds. The result of which was a 2016 report which clearly demonstrates the greyhound racing industry’s reluctance to self-regulate adequately, and although their expert report shows evidence of neglect, cruel training and injury the report was effectively ignored by the government, and as result dogs continue to suffer each and every day within the greyhound racing industry.  

Almost a decade ago, an investigation by a national newspapers revealed that once greyhounds were no longer able to make money for their owners, they were being killed ‘to order’ and dumped in a 
​mass grave. A subsequent report into the welfare issues relating to greyhounds in England revealed the terrible conditions suffered by racing dogs. 
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Government regulations were introduced in 2010 to address these problems, but they are woefully inadequate. The League spoke out against the regulations when they were published, calling them "little more than a crook's charter". In 2014 we produced a report demonstrating that, sadly, we were right.

The State of greyhound racing in Great Britain: a mandate for change, produced in conjunction with GREY2K USA Worldwide​, shows that the life of a racing greyhound was still filled with abuse, neglect and early death.

​For more info about what is wrong with Greyhound racing visit CagedNW and League Against Cruel Sports where you’ll find investigations, expert reports, evidence, photos, videos and other national and international resources.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT CAGEDNW.CO.UK PAGE 'THE TRUTH ABOUT RACING'.