Diolch to the petitioner for bringing this matter to our attention. As a member of the Petitions Committee I’ve had the opportunity to take evidence from a number of stakeholders. I’d like to thank them all, as well as the clerks and my colleagues on the committee for ensuring ‘The Final Bend?’ report includes a balance of voices from those in favour of and those who oppose greyhound racing in Wales.

With a strong belief that animal welfare must come first, I fully endorse all five recommendations of the report. I’m in no doubt that there are responsible, caring and proud owners who do their utmost to ensure the welfare of their dogs. But, in a racing environment, there are no guarantees, and unfortunately there is clear evidence of dog owners who couldn’t care less for the welfare of their dogs. Valley track, an unlicensed track, has no requirements to ensure a standard of animal welfare. The Greyhound Board of Great Britain have plans for a licence from 2024, but the fact is that, even at GBGB tracks that are licensed tracks, with vets, there is still a need for freezers suitable for the storage of greyhound carcasses. Because, between 2017 and 2020, 3,153 greyhounds have died and 18,345 greyhounds recorded injuries. We also know that greyhounds are being euthanised on economic grounds and in cases where they are not rehomeable. Regardless of the number of races that take place without injury or fatality, how many injuries and deaths must we reach before the welfare outweighs the entertainment, before life outweighs death?

The animal welfare plan for Wales makes reference to licences being a requirement for animal exhibits and establishments, potentially including greyhound racing. With the knowledge of the number of dogs injured, dead or abandoned, even at licensed tracks, I don’t see how this is in keeping with the plan’s ambition for all animals in Wales to have a good quality of life.

We pride ourselves in Wales on being trailblazers, recognising where change needs to happen and placing ourselves at the forefront—the climate emergency, for example. But, when it comes to greyhound racing, we’re in the company of less than a dozen countries worldwide. I'd prefer to see us in the company of the rest of the world, and animal charities such as Dogs Trust, RSPCA, Blue Cross, Hope Rescue and Greyhound Rescue Wales, who have all moved away from the tried-and-tested working with stadiums and the racing industry to minimise harm to an outright ban.

As the report notes, there's no denying that there's a long tradition of greyhound racing in Wales, but there must come a time and a place to debate whether a tradition that started back in the 1920s is worth the injuries, the abandonment and the fatalities of innocent dogs. I, for one, am glad that we are able to have that very debate today, and I'll continue to campaign for the welfare of animals in Wales. Thank you.