SCOTS support a complete ban on greyhound racing by two to one, a new poll has found as a bill aiming to outlaw the sport is lodged at Holyrood.
Polling commissioned by the American lobby group GREY2K USA Worldwide found that 68% of Scots support banning the dog racing, while 32% back it remaining legal.
The results come as a new bill is published at the Scottish Parliament proposing an end to greyhound racing in Scotland.
The members’ bill has been proposed by Green MSP Mark Ruskell, who has spoken about his own experience rescuing a greyhound.
Christine Dorchak, the president and co-founder of GREY2K USA Worldwide, said: “Greyhound racing is a disreputable pastime that exploits gentle dogs, exposing them to pain, injury and death, so it comes as no surprise that the majority of Scots want to see an end to this inherently cruel, gambling-led industry.
“With legislation now being considered by the Scottish Parliament, greyhounds may get their second chance in Scotland.
“Parliamentarians have before them the historic opportunity to make Scotland the first nation in the UK to say ‘no more’ to the confinement, injury and death, drugging and overbreeding endemic to the greyhound gambling industry.”
The poll GREY2K USA Worldwide commissioned was designed and conducted by the Edinburgh-based Diffley Partnership from April 11-16. The headline figures (of 68% vs 32%) came from a representative sample of 1037 people, with people who answered “don’t know” excluded.
The party further pointed to data from 2023, which showed that 109 greyhounds died trackside in the UK, with a further 4238 greyhounds injured during racing.
Ruskell said: “This is a milestone moment for my bill and I am grateful to all of the MSPs and campaigners who have helped us to get to this stage.
“Greyhound racing is a cruel sport that causes a huge amount of harm to dogs. Far too many have been killed or badly injured on the tracks.
“There is no safe or humane way to force a group of dogs to run around an oval track at 40 mph and it is totally wrong to make them do it in the name of profit.
“With Wales taking action, Scotland is looking increasingly isolated in allowing this gambling-led spectacle to continue.
“I hope that the Scottish Government and MSPs from all parties will support me and that we can get my bill over the line and end greyhound racing for good.”
In February, the Welsh Government announced that it would ban the cruel gambling-led entertainment “as soon as practically possible”.
Owen Sharp, chief executive at Dogs Trust, said: “We thank Mark Ruskell MSP for introducing the Prohibition of Greyhound Racing (Scotland) Bill to the Scottish Parliament and fully support his calls that greyhound racing must end in Scotland.
“While we worked closely with the greyhound industry for many years to try to improve welfare conditions for the dogs, progress has not been made quickly enough or on a big enough scale. It is simply not acceptable that in the UK over 2700 greyhounds died or were put to sleep over the past six years, all in the name of entertainment.
“Greyhound racing in Scotland has been significantly reduced since 2020. With only one operational unlicensed track, any phase-out period should be considerably shorter than elsewhere in the UK.
“In February this year, the Welsh Government committed to banning greyhound racing in Wales, and we very much hope the Scottish Government will reach the same conclusion and support the passage of the bill through Parliament so that greyhound racing will come to an end in Scotland.”
Last year, Holyrood's Rural Affairs Committee called for higher welfare standards for greyhounds bred for racing in Scotland rather than a complete ban.
GREY2K USA Worldwide said that Scotland has just one remaining unregulated track: Thornton in Fife.
It pointed to research by BiGGAR Economics, claiming that the “track contributes next to nothing to the economy, and could be far more beneficial to the local community if the site was repurposed for housing”.
