Animal Welfare Bill

moved Amendment No. 10: After Clause 10, insert the following new clause- ““GREYHOUND WELFARE (1) The appropriate national authority shall provide regulations under section 12 to introduce licensing of all racing greyhounds' tracks within two years of the day on which this Act is passed. (2) The appropriate national authority shall issue guidance which provides for- (a) independent veterinary attendance at race meetings, (b) welfare protection for retiring racing greyhounds, (c) the identification of greyhounds employed for racing purposes, (d) the licensing of kennels, and (e) the maintenance of tracks.”” The noble Baroness said: My Lords, this is perhaps the weightiest of all the amendments with which I have to deal today. I am very grateful to the many people who have written to me directly or made comments about the present and future care of greyhounds. If I may, I shall start by thanking all of those—the lobby groups and the professional tracks—for coming back to me. I apologise for the fact that I shall be slightly lengthy, because we need to set the scene. Under the amendment, we return to a subject of great concern to me and many other noble Lords. The amendment represents a departure from our position in Committee, where we sought to allow self-regulation of the greyhound tracks to continue but to eliminate non-regulation in the industry by ensuring that the independent tracks signed up to the industry's regulation. The new amendment would ensure that the national regulations were rolled out within two years. There have been many developments in the field since Committee, not least the shocking exposé in the Sunday Times last August, in which it was estimated that one man alone had during the past 15 years killed 10,000 retired greyhounds, not letting the owners know what was happening to their hounds—some thinking that they were being rehoused when in fact they were being destroyed. It is not necessary for me to repeat that story; I am sure that many noble Lords have read it. It is one that horrified me and must have horrified other noble Lords. In the light of that evidence, and in the light of the Minister's words in Committee, I have revised my position. However, there are serious flaws in the operation of the current system. Where a trainer does not abide by the industry rules as set out by the National Greyhound Racing Club, his licence is revoked. However, there is nothing to prevent that trainer from continuing to train dogs or entering those dogs on independent tracks. The self-regulating greyhound industry is beset by conflicting priorities. The built-in conflict between welfare and profit has clearly resulted in the under-funding and under-management of the greyhounds’ welfare. I accept that the NGRC has acted with the very best of intentions, and that the regulations that it has tried to bring in have helped, but there is still a long way to go. That conflict of interests and, I am sorry to say, the disgraceful lack of co-operation shown by some individuals in the industry make the current situation unworkable. Although I would have been happy to allow the NGRC to regulate the industry if it had proved itself able to keep an accurate audit of retiring greyhounds and to bring independent tracks within the approved industry, I regret that the evidence at this time persuades me that it cannot. However, my amendment would give it two years within which to do so. If the amendment were accepted, and if the industry managed to achieve what it is setting out to do, it may well have urged the industry to look further. I understand that the NGRC’s rules of racing do not include a section on minimum welfare standards. Although elements of its rule book cover small welfare issues, there is no written code on the welfare of greyhounds. What is more, although betting points and entry fees are well represented, there is no official entry on track surface or layout. The amendment calls for national standards to help to reduce the number of dogs that are bred for racing, thereby reducing so-called wastage from the breeding of unsuitable dogs. It would ensure that veterinary attendance at meetings was mandatory, that there would be an effective and audited identification scheme for greyhounds, that greyhound kennels were licensed and that tracks were kept up to suitable standards for racing. I was heartened to read the Minister’s words in Grand Committee, where he recognised that, "““the regulated sector is making strong advances in welfare, but I do not think that anyone is saying that it is perfect””.—[Official Report, 24/5/06; col. GC224.]" That is right, and that is still my view. Great attempts at improving welfare have indeed been made, but the greyhound industry has clearly come far from its starting point. That starting point, however, was far below a reasonable standard of welfare. I hope the Minister recognises that my amendment would allow for the continued work of the Defra greyhound welfare working group, as it would allow for regulations to be made, highlights the essential areas for improvement, and would allow for a two-year roll-out. I was disappointed by the time scale for the work on greyhound welfare, as I was by the entire time frame for the codes of practice that will come to this House for approval after the Bill has been passed. I also remain far from satisfied that the next instalment will be next April. The RSPCA’s contribution to us accepts that the Government intend to introduce regulations that will address these concerns, but it would welcome the Minister’s confirmation that the regulations will provide scope for inspectors of tracks and trainers’ kennels, that the Government will make a commitment to ensuring that the regulation of the industry is open and transparent, and that the public can have faith in it. Self-regulation is not acceptable to the RSPCA’s organisations or to the public if the industry fails to do so. The RPSCA also believes that the inspection process should be audited to ensure compliance with procedures and the competency of the inspectors. It would be enormously helpful for all of us if, in addition to providing that clarification, the Minister might also consider another couple of items. We believe that additional safeguards need to be touched on. The current working group includes Hazel Bentall, a veterinary steward for the National Greyhound Racing Club. In addition to the points already raised, it would like to include drug testing, regular and random inspection of residential and racing facilities, comprehensive integration of all relevant records and a robust audit to ensure the effectiveness of regulation. I know that some of that is already included, but I should like clarification, which is why I have proposed this amendment. I do not belittle in any way the work that has been done. I would like the noble Lord, Lord Lipsey, in particular, to know that. The League Against Cruel Sports is very concerned and has added its weight. A letter to me states: "““It is the neglect by the NGRC and the lack of action to address the concerns of ‘main-stream’ animal welfare organisations, which forms the basis of arguments against their continued self regulation and demonstrates the need for statutory regulation to be included on the face of the Bill””." I am sure that the Pet Advisory Committee, which has also lobbied me, is known to many noble Lords. It says that, "““there is no quality assurance of the inspection system and no data is provided to show that it is efficacious””." It is also concerned about the re-homing of retired greyhounds. It says that the Retired Greyhound Trust, which is largely funded by the industry, re-homes 3,500 dogs each year. I understand that other welfare charities re-home a further 1,500 dogs. Naturally, some owners and trainers retain dogs as pets when their careers are over, but that number is not known because of the lack of data on registration and independent tracks. The trust believes that the figure is unlikely to be in excess of 3,000, although that is speculative and based on poor funding at the level of trainers. Therefore, when taking the figures together, it seems that the fate of some 5,000 to 8,000 greyhounds annually is unknown. With that in view, our amendment proposes, under Clause 10, to introduce licensing of all—I repeat, all—greyhound racing tracks through the appropriate national authority within two years of the passing of the Act. I beg to move.