Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010

My Lords, we on these Benches also broadly support the order. The noble Lord, Lord Taylor, declared that he was an irregular attender at the All-Party Parliamentary Greyhound Group. I am afraid that I need to declare an interest as an all-too-regular attender at Oxford, Swindon, Reading, White City, Wimbledon, Haringey, Wembley, Birmingham Hall Green, Brighton and Catford in my misspent youth. I stopped going to the dogs about a quarter of a century ago, but I should declare that I was responsible for leading the noble Lord, Lord Lipsey, astray when we were both special advisers; I introduced him to dog racing at Wimbledon. I believe—the noble Lord, Lord Donoughue, will tell me if I am wrong—that to this day he and the noble Lord, Lord Donoughue, have a share in a slow dog running there. Like probably too many noble Lords I speak from intimate knowledge of this matter, but from a long time ago. These regulations apply to only a few remaining flapper tracks, as dog-fanciers call them in this country—that is, independent tracks—and I would appreciate if we could know how many there are left; whether it is six or seven, I am amazed by how few there are. Perhaps the Minister could write to us and let us know. These tracks are the remnants of a long tradition of working men, often retired miners, enjoying this sport, particularly in the north of the country. We share some of the same concerns about whether the regulations go far enough and whether the welfare of dogs is properly covered. Given how far the sport has now declined, though, one has to accept that the capacity of those tracks to spend a lot more is very limited. I am sure that the Government are right to say that to go further would be disproportionate because there would then be a danger that these tracks would close. I want to ask particularly about the questions raised by the League Against Cruel Sports and the RSPCA as to whether there should be more access to statutory information so that they can protect injured greyhounds or greyhounds that may well be coming to them after they have left the sport. Have the Government considered that? In general, though, we would appreciate knowing how many independent tracks there are left. We broadly support the order.