BHA confident that greyhound racing bans in Wales and Scotland have 'no connection to the future of horseracing'

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The BHA says it does not believe that bans on greyhound racing passed by the devolved legislatures in Wales and Scotland this week pose a threat to the future of horseracing in either nation.

On Tuesday, the Welsh Senedd voted into law the Prohibition of Greyhound Racing (Wales) bill, though the Greyhound Board of Great Britain is awaiting the judgement of a judicial review into the legislation lodged in the High Court. 

Valley is the sole greyhound track in Wales affiliated with the GBGB and the bill lays out a timeline to gradually wind down the sport by 2030. 

Scotland has no active track – although Thornton in Fife has hosted sporadic flapping meetings – and the passage of the Greyhound Racing (Offences) (Scotland) Bill through the Scottish parliament on Wednesday effectively removed the possibility of reviving the sport north of the border. 

The two bans have been hailed as a victory by a number of animal rights campaign groups, but the BHA remains confident that improvements in horseracing's welfare record and continued engagement with politicians in Cardiff and Edinburgh, as well as at Westminster, has ensured that the sport will not be targeted in the way that greyhound racing has.

Valley is the only greyhound track operating in Wales

A BHA spokesperson said: "We are aware of decisions made by politicians in Scotland and Wales to ban greyhound racing, following the respective governments’ support for the bills laid in the Scottish Parliament and Senedd. We note that the Greyhound Board of Great Britain has launched a judicial review of the bill in Wales, which remains ongoing.

"At every stage, both governments have been keen to stress both on the record and directly to the BHA and Scottish Racing that there is no connection between these bills and the future of the horseracing industry in Scotland and Wales.

“The BHA has been active in the Senedd for many years, running a cross-party group [CPG] which has been ably supported by the Welsh racecourses and participant community. Scottish Racing leads on political engagement in Holyrood and also runs a horseracing CPG.

“We are proud of our record on horse welfare and the improvements the sport has made to the safety of our horses, with more than £63 million invested by the industry into veterinary research and education since 2000. The BHA firmly believes that when animal sport is well regulated it brings an unrivalled quality of life and high standards of care for the animals involved.”

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