In an historic victory for animal welfare, this evening Senedd members voted overwhelmingly for a complete ban on greyhound racing in Wales.

Together with our Cut The Chase coalition partners, we are celebrating this landmark decision as Wales becomes the first nation in the U.K. to introduce legislation to ban greyhound racing, with Scotland also due to vote on the final stage of their Bill next week.

Our founder and Chief Executive Officer, Vanessa Waddon, reflects on the journey to this historic decision which will bring an end to the entirely preventable injuries and deaths of the dogs involved in greyhound racing in Wales.

“Hope Rescue is named after Last Hope, a greyhound from Valley Greyhound Stadium in Ystrad Mynach that was found on Fochriw mountain back in 2004, shot with a captive bolt gun and with his ears hacked off so he couldn’t be identified by his tattoos, all the time his tail still wagging. This horrific story inspired me to get involved in greyhound protection and ultimately led to the founding of Hope Rescue in 2005.

In 2018, Hope Rescue initiated the Amazing Greys partnership project at Valley Greyhound Stadium after welfare concerns were raised about the fate of surplus greyhounds from the track, with volunteers from Hope Rescue, Greyhound Rescue Wales and Forever Hounds Trust attending race nights and taking in surplus and injured dogs.

The Amazing Greys project highlighted significant welfare issues with greyhound racing in Wales, and in 2021 when the track announced its intention to become a licensed Greyhound Board of Great Britain track greatly intensifying the volume of racing, we knew we had to act. Since 2017, 4,034 greyhounds have died or been put to sleep across the UK because of their involvement with licensed racing, while there have been more than 35,000 injuries. 

In September 2021 we launched our petition to the Senedd Petitions Committee to ban greyhound racing in Wales, with over 35,000 dog lovers signing the petition. We were soon joined by Greyhound Rescue Wales, closely followed by Blue Cross, Dogs Trust and RSPCA to form the #CutTheChase coalition and take forward the campaign with a strong and united voice.    

Following a Petitions Committee report with the majority in support of a ban, strong cross-party support in subsequent debates and a Welsh Government consultation, the Deputy First Minister first announced the plans for a ban in February 2025. 

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the public for supporting the campaign, and also to the Petitions Committee, chaired by Jack Sargeant MS at the time. We also want to say thank you to the stalwarts of the campaign, Jane Dodds MS, Luke Fletcher MS, Carolyn Thomas MS and Dr Altaf Hussain MS who all played a significant role in rallying strong and unwavering cross-party support for the Cut the Chase campaign

Vanessa says “Having witnessed first-hand the catastrophic injuries suffered by greyhounds racing in Wales through our Amazing Greys project, I am delighted that Welsh Government has put animal welfare first and Wales has become the first U.K. nation to ban greyhound racing. We are proud that the hard work of the #CutThe Chase coalition has resulted in this historic win for animal welfare. We look forward to a future where greyhounds in Wales no longer face the prospect of injury or death every time they race.”

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