Target: Steve Barclay, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, United Kingdom
Goal: Ban greyhound racing and impose strict penalties on tracks that allegedly cause fatal injuries, cull dogs, or neglect their basic care
Every lap a greyhound runs can become a life-or-death gamble. Reports indicate that licensed tracks must keep freezers on-site to store the bodies of dogs who suffer catastrophic injuries. Away from the cheering crowds, many of these sensitive animals are reportedly confined to dank, cramped kennels, deprived of comfort and socialization.
Investigations suggest thousands of greyhounds are bred each year, only for the “unprofitable” ones to be allegedly shot, drowned, dumped in mass graves, or shipped overseas where some end up in the meat trade. Racing, critics say, is not a harmless pastime but an industry built on broken bones, discarded bodies, and untold suffering.
Ending this cycle is long overdue. Racing participants and regulators should not be permitted to view greyhounds as disposable commodities. An outright ban, along with aggressive enforcement against any track or individual who continues to exploit these dogs, would help ensure that greyhounds are granted lives of safety and dignity instead of fear and pain.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Secretary Barclay,
Greyhound racing, as reported by multiple welfare groups, is steeped in cruelty. Licensed tracks purportedly maintain freezers to store the bodies of dogs killed on the oval. Veterinarians have documented broken spines, fractured legs, and fatal head injuries sustained in the chase for betting profits.
When not on the track, many greyhounds are reportedly warehoused in squalid kennels. Once deemed too slow or injured, they are allegedly culled, abandoned, or exported abroad where their fate is uncertain. Such practices appear fundamentally incompatible with the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the public’s growing concern for humane treatment.
We therefore urge you to support legislation that bans commercial greyhound racing nationwide, closes existing tracks, and enforces severe penalties against any operation that continues to exploit or harm greyhounds. These gentle dogs deserve far better than a life—and death—in the service of gambling revenue.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Neurodoc
