{"id":811502,"date":"2026-03-08T04:48:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T04:48:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/811502\/"},"modified":"2026-03-08T04:48:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T04:48:18","slug":"chris-packham-backs-ban-on-cruel-greyhound-racing-in-scotland-ahead-of-final-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/811502\/","title":{"rendered":"Chris Packham backs ban on ‘cruel’ greyhound racing in Scotland ahead of final vote"},"content":{"rendered":"

The TV wildlife presenter hailed Greens MSP Mark Ruskell’s bid to outlaw dog tracks as a ‘tremendous result for animal welfare’.\"chris<\/p>\n

TV star Chris Packham says dog tracks are ‘misery’ for greyhounds(Image: Channel 4)<\/p>\n

TV star Chris Packham has thrown his weight behind UK-first plans to outlaw greyhound racing<\/a> in Scotland.<\/p>\n

Chris, host of BBC\u2019s Springwatch and The Really Wild Show, hailed Greens\u2019 MSP Mark Ruskell\u2019s Bill<\/a> to ban dog tracks as a \u201ctremendous result for animal welfare\u201d.<\/p>\n

It comes ahead of a final Holyrood vote, expected later this month, on Ruskell\u2019s Prohibition of Greyhound Racing (Scotland) Bill.<\/p>\n

If passed, it will make it an offence to race greyhounds<\/a> on tracks north of the Border.<\/p>\n

And Packham said he hoped the rest of the UK would soon follow.<\/p>\n

\"Greyhound<\/p>\n

Greyhound racing set for ban in Scotland(Image: Getty)<\/p>\n

The nature campaigner said: \u201cA ban would be a tremendous result for animal welfare, for dogs<\/a> and for Scotland. Times need to change and leaving animal cruelty in the past is an imperative.<\/p>\n

\u201cGreyhound racing with all of its associated misery has no place in 21st-century Britain. Wales and England must follow this lead. Hats off to Mark Ruskell<\/a> and all those who have got us to this point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, the Sunday Mail highlighted the mid-Scotland and Fife MSP\u2019s long-running campaign to end the sport \u2013 inspired by rescuing an abandoned racing greyhound<\/a> with a broken leg called Bert.<\/p>\n

With dogs<\/a> racing up to 40mph in a pack around curved tracks, there are often collisions causing broken legs or even broken necks. When they can no longer race, the dogs are often abandoned.<\/p>\n

Data from 2023 showed 109 greyhounds<\/a> died trackside in the UK, and 4238 dogs were injured.<\/p>\n

\"Scottish<\/p>\n

Scottish Green MSP Mark Ruskell with former racing greyhounds outside the Scottish Parliament(Image: Jane Barlow\/PA Wire)<\/p>\n

Ruskell told the Sunday Mail: “I’m delighted to have the support of Chris Packham, who has already done so much to advance the cause of animal welfare.<\/p>\n

“Greyhounds are wonderful animals and should not be forced to run at such speed and at so much risk of injury or death. Every greyhound deserves a happy and healthy life.<\/p>\n

“With the support of Chris and so many people across Scotland we can finally end this cruel gambling-led sport for good.”<\/p>\n

Thornton Stadium in Fife<\/a> is now Scotland\u2019s last greyhound racing track – but racing operations were suspended indefinitely last year amid the ban threat.<\/p>\n

Ruskell\u2019s Bill would mark the end for Thornton, 90 years on from when it first opened its doors in 1936.<\/p>\n

Dog tracks boomed in popularity in the post-war era, with the Fife track\u2019s core audience made up of labourers from nearby coal mines and dockyards.<\/p>\n

It follows the closure of Shawfield Stadium in Rutherglen in 2020.<\/p>\n

The RSPCA said only nine \u00adcountries in the world still allow commercial greyhound racing, including all four UK home nations.<\/p>\n

Wales and New Zealand have also committed to banning the sport.<\/p>\n

The UK Government said in October it has no plans to ban dog racing in England, despite pressure from campaigners.<\/p>\n

There are still 17 licensed stadiums south of the Border supporting an estimated 5000 jobs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The TV wildlife presenter hailed Greens MSP Mark Ruskell’s bid to outlaw dog tracks as a ‘tremendous result…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":811503,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5009],"tags":[192,748,690,4884,5698,712,62453,12550,16,15],"class_list":["post-811502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scotland","tag-bbc","tag-britain","tag-dogs","tag-great-britain","tag-pets","tag-scotland","tag-springwatch","tag-sunday-mail","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116191750297635419","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=811502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811502\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/811503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=811502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=811502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=811502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}