As 123 Greyhounds killed on British tracks, celebrities (and their dogs) call on Government to Ban Greyhound Racing

Alan Cumming, Alison Steadman, Joanna Lumley, John Bishop, Olivia Bowen, Susie Dent, Chris Packham, Diane Morgan, Miranda Richardson, and Evanna Lynch among the signatories calling for an end to greyhound racing.

The text of the letter with full signatory list is here.

Images available here.

The Greyhound Board of Great Britain’s announcement today that 123 dogs have been killed trackside in the past year – one death every three days – has been met with horror by campaign group Animal Aid, but, they say, it comes as no surprise. The new statistics also reveal there were 3,809 recorded injuries in 2024. 

On top of this, industry figures show that there were 31,359 greyhound injuries, including 1,230 track fatalities between 2017 and 2023. An additional 3,015 greyhounds were reported destroyed for other reasons such as treatment costs or because they were deemed “unsuitable for homing” after their last race in that same period.

Some British greyhounds who are no longer raced are exported to China, Pakistan, and Spain for breeding and racing where there are few or no welfare laws to protect them. Greyhounds have even been found within the Chinese meat trade. 

Says actress Miranda Richardson who signed the letter:

“What kind of society allows dogs to be killed in their hundreds for sport? It’s shocking to me that this is an issue we still need to address. And while it’s great news that Wales has announced a ban on greyhound racing, as have most other countries, the rest of the UK is lagging behind. It’s time to rectify this. It’s time we did better for our canine friends.”

Says Animal Aid’s Campaign Manager Nina Copleston-Hawkens:

“We are devastated to learn how many deaths there have been in the past year and we urge the government to take a compassionate and principled stance and finally end the suffering. There have been decades of promises of reform and decades of welfare failures. Now, we need action. No animal deserves to die for ‘sport’. It’s time to end greyhound racing once and for all, and Animal Aid will be launching a campaign calling for a ban across the rest of the UK in the coming monthsl.”

Greyhound racing in the UK has been in steady decline for decades. In the UK, there are now just 19 tracks licensed by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB), two unlicensed “flapping” tracks, and one track in Northern Ireland that is regulated by the Irish Coursing Club. In February, the Welsh Assembly confirmed it will ban the industry “as soon as practically possible”, while the track in Swindon has announced it will close by the end of the year.

The GBGB statistics can be viewed here.