Animal Welfare Bill

My Lords, whatever we do, I hope that the Government will build in to the system a continued incentive for the greyhound industry to improve. My favourite proposal would be to ensure that the vets employed at courses were independent and that they were not selected or paid by—or, at least, could not have their payment withheld by—a body other than the greyhound industry association. You need somebody in the middle of the industry who sees what is going on and pushes continually for change. If that were done in a reasoned way, it would provide the kind of impetus that the greyhound industry could live with. There are some substantial changes we might hope for over the next 10 years. Our tracks were designed for much lighter animals; they are being used by big, heavy beasts which tend to do themselves a lot of damage going round tight turns. It takes time to sort that out; you cannot do it at a moment’s notice. Our system of racing is designed so that the favourite should not win. In this country, favourites in greyhound racing win about one time in three, whereas in Australia, which uses bigger tracks and different methods, they win most of the time. People in Australia bet on first, second and third together to make it interesting, but in England they bet mostly on the favourite. That, too, has implications, because for the favourite not to win, there has to be a lot of contact and obstruction between the dogs. That will often lead to crashes and injuries. Things need to be done over time because it would be incredibly expensive and inconvenient, and very disruptive to the sport, to try to do them immediately. None the less, continual improvement is needed so that the sport is in the end run properly and in the interests of the animals, with injuries minimised and enjoyment maximised, rather than the present, rather unsatisfactory situation.