Pete the Vet: Should the government stop funding greyhound racing?

Greyhound racing receives €20 million per year from the government compared to €3.8m for animal welfare groups. We're beginning to question this imbalance

Since 2018, attendance at greyhound races in Ireland has plummeted by 55%. 

Greyhounds have been used as hunting animals for thousands of years, prized for their keen eyesight and speed.

In Ireland, coursing (chasing hares) has been common since the nineteenth century, while the sport of greyhound racing is a more recent development, from the late 1920s onwards. There are 14 greyhound racing tracks in Ireland, with most operated by the semi-state body, Greyhound Racing Ireland (GRI). GRI has had six CEOs since 2005, with the latest one, Dearbhla O’Brien, standing down last month, after less than a year in the job.

In Ireland, greyhound racing is sustained by government funding of around €20 million per year: in contrast, funding for animal welfare groups is only €3.8 million per year. This imbalance in financial support has been noted by many, with questions being asked about the rationale for spending government funds on a minority pastime which is in decline.

The situation is more complex than it may seem: state funding for greyhound racing has been linked to funding for horse racing since the
establishment of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund as part of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act 2001. This stipulates that the excise duty on off-course betting on all sports must be ring-fenced, and handed over to the horse and greyhound racing industries — in a ratio of 80:20 respectively.

Some have argued that this makes horse and greyhound racing “self-funding” but in fact, the money from gambling taxes is often topped up with funds taken from general exchequer funds — some years to the tune of 50%. One challenge for politicians who wish to reduce funding to greyhounds is this tight link to horse racing: if horse racing is to continue to receive state funding, then so must greyhound racing.

Primary legislation would be needed to decouple the funding of the two industries. It seems hard to argue against this new legislation being put in place, as a priority, so that greyhound racing and horse racing can each be funded according to their own merits.

What are the merits and demerits of greyhound racing in Ireland? This has been the focus of a series of industry-commissioned reports. The most recent report, ‘The Economic and Financial Significance of the Irish Greyhound Industry’ was written by economist Jim Power in 2021. It charts the importance of greyhound racing in Ireland, its economic, social and cultural significance and highlights the local employment and the financial support for service providers in the wider industry. The report is frequently used to justify the continued public funding of the industry.

However, critics have asked questions about aspects of the report, with accusations that they seriously overestimate the value of greyhound racing to the Irish economy. There have been calls for an independent analysis of the economics.

Globally, greyhound racing is faltering, with tracks around the world closing, for four main reasons which apply across all of the seven
countries where it still continues.

Poor attendance at races

Despite marketing campaigns promoting evenings of food, drink, and watching greyhounds, fewer and fewer people want to attend races in person. Official reports state that 1.1 m attended races in 2008 and this had fallen by 55% to just over 0.5m by 2018. This decline has been exacerbated by COVID, and there is no sign of a recovery. Ireland has 3.3 greyhound tracks per million population, compared to an average of 0.9 in countries where there has been radical restructuring, with the closure of tracks in order to ensure a financially viable sector. The situation here is not sustainable, with or without government support.

Greyhounds love running but an investigative report from RTE recently found that dogs were disappearing because they could not run fast enough. Picture: Larry Cummins. Greyhound 

Questions over data recording and transparency

It should be simple to record the births of all greyhound pups, their subsequent ownership, and final outcome. While a new system claims to improve the situation, full transparency for all dogs, at all times, has not yet been shown to be part of this.

Animal welfare concerns

Greyhounds love running, and just as dog agility is a popular sport without negativity attached, there is potential for greyhound racing to be a positive, widely-acclaimed activity. However, the 2019 RTÉ Investigates documentary on greyhounds highlighted a raft of welfare issues, from the killing of dogs at licensed knackeries to the “disappearance” of 6000 dogs per year because they do not run fast enough, to claims of illegal drug use to enhance performance.

As well as this, there have been prosecutions in the past for live animals being used as bait to “blood” greyhounds. Other worrying aspects include the fact that surgical artificial insemination is commonplace here, despite welfare concerns (it’s illegal in the UK on welfare grounds).

Financial failure

If the government stopped supporting greyhound racing, the natural demise of the industry would gradually follow. This is happening in other countries: why not in Ireland?

The GRI has been summoned to appear before the Public Accounts Committee in September, to justify continued public funding for the
industry. For decades, the greyhound racing industry has only survived thanks to government subsidies. In 2022, it is difficult to understand why this should continue for any longer.