Victory at Last! Birmingham Council Approves Closure of Cruel Greyhound Stadium After All

Unethical dog races are now set to end at Hall Green Stadium in Birmingham.

It’s been a long campaign – but now, finally, Birmingham City Council has approved plans to demolish a dog-racing track in the southeast part of the city and replace it with much-needed new housing for the local community. This is great news for everyone who cares about greyhounds.

Forcing intelligent dogs to race around a track in order to line bookmakers’ pockets is cruel and archaic. A 2014 report on UK greyhound racing found that dogs used for racing spend 95 per cent of their time in small and barren kennels, are often kept muzzled for long periods of time, and frequently suffer from untreated injuries, malnutrition, and other distressing health conditions. Around 10,000 dogs are deemed “surplus to requirements” every year and may be abandoned, killed, or even sold to laboratories for dissection.

Almost 8,000 compassionate PETA supporters signed a petition to Birmingham City Council supporting the closure of Hall Green Stadium, while local groups such as Birmingham Greyhound Protection have been campaigning on the ground to stop these races. Yet last month, the council voted to keep the unethical racing track open.

Many concerned residents got in touch with their local councillors to express their disappointment at this wrongheaded decision – thank you if you were one of them. And this week, the council had another meeting, reconsidered the evidence, and – this time – came to the right conclusion! Councillors have now approved the planning application to replace the dog track with up to 210 new houses.

One step at a time, we’re making progress in preventing dogs from being abused for entertainment. A few weeks ago, New South Wales in Australia took the historic step of banning greyhound races outright. In the UK, ticket sales are dwindling and tracks all over the country are closing down. With your support, we’ll soon end these cruel races.