An Aberdeenshire group fighting to change the UK Government’s proposed racing greyhound welfare regulations will meet with their MP tomorrow.
Volunteers and workers at Methlick-based Give a Greyhound a Home are meeting Gordon MP Malcolm Bruce to discuss the proposed legislation. They believe it is not in the best interests of the animals.
The new proposals include rules such as having a vet present at all race meetings and trials, ensuring that a vet examines each greyhound before racing, and making sure that no greyhound participates in a race if a vet has deemed it unfit.
Volunteer Fiona Nicholson, who has six hounds, said the new legislation is restricted to the greyhounds’ trackside activity which is only 10% of their lives, and that the new rules are failing to regulate the 90% of racing greyhounds’ lives which they spend away from the race tracks.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs launched a consultation earlier this year to hear views about the regulations, which would be made under section 13 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and will only be put in place in England and Wales.
Mrs Nicholson, 53, of Tulloch Croft, Ellon, said that the consultation process was flawed due to a high percentage of responses being rejected as they missed the deadline date. She said that 89% of the responses that were accepted were disagreeing with the new legislation.
Mrs Nicholson said: “We are going to ask Malcolm Bruce if he can put forward a motion to ask if the proposals can be looked at again on the basis that 78% of the responses were rejected due to deadlines, and out of the responses that were accepted 89% disagreed.
“Even with these high numbers we are still being ignored. The proposals are not in the best interests of the hounds. They are most definitely relevant in Scotland because many dogs make there way up here.
“We are asking the government to do what was originally promised – extend the regulations to address the real racing greyhound welfare issues.”
The group, along with some of their own greyhounds, will meet Mr Bruce at 3pm tomorrow at his constituency office in Inverurie. The proposed legislation will be discussed in parliament at the end of this month.