Birmingham Greyhound Track runs its last race
Posted 31st July 2017
On 29th July 2017, the anniversary of it’s opening, Hall Green Stadium held its final Greyhound race. The track is set for demolition to make way for houses.
Hall Green isn’t the only major Greyhound track to close in 2017, with Wimbledon track also closing down to make way for a new football stadium.
Chris Pitt, Deputy-Director of Policy, Communications & Campaigns said:
“The closure of these tracks highlights there is no longer a viable appetite for Greyhound racing.We welcome the tracks closure as it brings Greyhound racing closer to the finish line in the UK.”
The hidden side of greyhound racing includes dogs kept for long periods in lonely kennels, painful injuries from racing and training, drug abuse, illness and neglect. Shockingly, thousands of surplus dogs die or disappear every year. The League believes dogs should not suffer or die for entertainment or for the profit of the dog racing industry.
Over many years the League has been calling for immediate action to address these issues, including:
- an end to industry self-regulation
- the mandatory publication of injury records
- the creation of a central database for tracking dogs from birth, to retirement, to death.
However, due to the fact that far too many greyhounds continue to suffer unnecessarily and very little progress has been made on these issues, we are now also calling for a phasing out of the industry aiming for an eventual ban on greyhound racing.