Not enough evidence to ban greyhound racing, officials warned Welsh ministers

Welsh government ministers pressed ahead with a ban on greyhound racing despite officials warning against the decision last year, documents have revealed.

The Welsh government is hoping to pass a bill in the Senedd on Tuesday to ban the practice, but the legislation is facing a legal challenge and accusations ministers did not consult on it properly.

It has now emerged that civil servants told the Rural Affairs Secretary Huw Irranca-Davies last year it would be better if the government licensed the owners of racing greyhounds, and said not enough evidence had been gathered to justify a ban.

Ministers said they could not comment during "ongoing litigation".

Animal welfare groups have been demanding the sport is shut down, saying it is inherently dangerous and claiming that thousands of greyhounds in the UK have died in recent years as a result of racing.

The Welsh government decided to go ahead with a ban as part of a deal with Welsh Liberal Democrat Jane Dodds to get its budget passed by the Senedd last year.

There is only one track in Wales - Valley Greyhounds in Ystrad Mynach, Caerphilly county.

In their advice to Irranca-Davies, officials foresaw there was a "high risk" of a court challenge.

The Greyhound Board of Great Britain's (GBGB) application for judicial review was heard in Cardiff last week, with a judgement expected in the next few weeks.

GBGB has accused the Welsh government of failing to carry out a consultation lawfully - the organisation is hoping to have the ban quashed, even if the legislation is passed.

Irranca-Davies announced the policy on 18 February 2025, a day after he received ministerial advice on the topic from the Welsh government civil service.

BBC Wales has now seen the advice, after it was obtained by GBGB from the Welsh government through its bid for judicial review.

The advice presented several options - instead of a ban, officials recommended developing proposals for the licensing of owners, saying it offered "the best balance of welfare gains" for the dogs involved.

The Welsh government ran a consultation on animal welfare in 2024, which asked for evidence for a phased ban on greyhound racing.

Most respondents supported a phased ban.

Officials told the minister that the responses showed the industry's current state in Wales, and the conditions that racing dogs are kept in, "are not fully understood".

"The submitted evidence was not robust enough to support a definitive decision, consisting mostly of anecdotal case studies and summaries of welfare concerns associated with commercial greyhound racing," the minister was told.

Officials said the call for evidence in the consultation "did not provide enough robust evidence on which to justify or negate a phased ban on welfare grounds".

Ministers were told they had "not consulted on imposing a phased ban", and officials said a ban carried "reputational risks" for the Welsh government because of a lack of a relevant consultation.

Officials warned of a "democratic deficit" if ministers went ahead.

Mark Bird, chief executive of GBGB, said ministers "chose to pursue this misguided dodgy bill even while being told by officials that there was insufficient consultation or evidence to support it".

A Welsh government spokesperson said: "As this is ongoing litigation and we are awaiting the court's judgment, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage."

On Tuesday, the Welsh Parliament will decide whether to pass legislation that would ban greyhound racing no sooner than 1 April 2027 and no later than 1 April 2030.

The Cut the Chase Coalition - a group of animal welfare organisations - said a petition on a ban has previously gained more than 35,000 signatures.

Owen Sharp, chief executive of the Dogs Trust, said: "Over the past six years, more than 2,700 dogs have lost their lives in the UK in the name of entertainment, with many more suffering serious or life-changing injuries.

"This is unacceptable, and we are pleased the Senedd is ready and willing to take decisive action to prevent further deaths and injuries."

Liberal Democrat MS Jane Dodds said passing the law would "make a clear statement about the kind of Wales we want to build - a compassionate nation that takes animal welfare seriously and acts on the evidence placed before it".

Labour MSs are expected to back the legislation, while politicians in Plaid Cymru, the Conservatives and Reform are expected to be given a free vote by their parties.

The bill has passed all previous stages of the process with support from members of Plaid and Conservative MS Altaf Hussain - if that was repeated the legislation will likely pass.