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Greyhound injury and retirement data published
There were a total of 4,837 injuries and 257 track fatalities in 2017.
Trust calls figures ‘unacceptable’ and pledges to work with governing body

Nearly 5,000 racing greyhounds were injured in 2017, according to new figures published for the first time.

Furthermore, just over 1,000 dogs died or were euthanised, of which 270 were deemed unsuitable for rehoming, 257 were trackside fatalities and 333 were euthanised due to treatment costs or poor prognosis.

The figures were published by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB), which governs the racing industry.

Responding in a statement, the Greyhound Trust said the figures were ‘unacceptable’, but pledged to work with GBGB to reduce euthanasia levels and increase successful rehoming rates.

Neil Parish MP welcomed the publication of these figures, which the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) Committee, called for in February 2016.

However, he is urging GBGB to work towards reducing the rate of euthanasia. He is also pressing the government to introduce a statutory levy of one per cent gross turnover, to ensure greyhound welfare is adequately funded in future.

Key figures from GBGB include:
  • there were a total of 4,837 injuries and 257 track fatalities
  • just over 86 per cent of retiring dogs (6,391) were rehomed or retained by the owner/trainer
  • just under 14 per cent of dogs died or were euthanised, of which 25 per cent were euthanised trackside on humane grounds
  • twenty-seven per cent of dogs were deemed unsuitable for rehoming, while homes could not be found for a further 20 dogs
  • the remainder (eight per cent) were euthanised or died due to medical or other reasons, terminal illness and natural causes.

Greyhound Trust chief executive Lisa Morris-Tomkins commented: “The number of racing greyhounds who never have the opportunity to experience a loving home when their racing career is over is unacceptable, and the base line injury and retirement figures published must be improved; it is unacceptable that any greyhound suitable for homing is euthanised.

“This is why the Greyhound Trust have committed our expertise and experience to work with the GBGB on two key welfare projects: a behavioural assessment project and an injury recovery scheme, which will maximise the opportunities for greyhounds to transition to a family pet.”

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RCVS Knowledge appoints Veterinary Evidence editor-in-chief

News Story 1
 RCVS Knowledge has welcomed Professor Peter Cockcroft as editor-in-chief for Veterinary Evidence.

A world-renowned expert in evidence-based veterinary medicine, Prof Cockcroft will lead the strategic development and editorial quality of the open-access journal. He was previously in the role from 2017-2020.

Katie Mantell, CEO of RCVS Knowledge, said: "We are excited about the extensive knowledge of evidence-based veterinary medicine and clinical veterinary research that Peter brings, and we look forward to working with him over this next phase of the journal's development." 

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News Shorts
CVS Group hit by cyber attack

CVS Group, which owns more than 450 veterinary practices in the UK, has been hit by a cyber attack.

In a statement, the group said the incident involved unauthorised external access to a limited number of its IT systems. As soon as the attack was discovered, the group took its IT systems temporarily offline, causing 'considerable operational disruption'.

It has warned that the security steps taken and ongoing plans to move its operational systems and IT infrastructure to the Cloud are likely to have an ongoing impact over a number of weeks.

Due to the risk that personal information was accessed, CVS has informed the Information Commissioner's Office. The company is working with third party consultants to investigate the incident.