Success! No More Dogs Will Be Forced to Race in Bolton

We’re doing the equivalent of wagging our tails at the news that Bolton Council has accepted plans to close down Westhoughton Greyhound Stadium, ending unethical dog races in Bolton!

In June, we shared the promising news that an application had been submitted to close the only remaining track in Bolton and redevelop the site for housing. A handful of dog-racing enthusiasts were threatening to derail those plans, so we asked you to take action. Thousands of you responded and wrote to Bolton Council to support the closure of the stadium, massively outnumbering the measly 17 objections sent in by people who enjoy watching dogs be exploited for money.

We wholeheartedly applaud Bolton Council’s decision to close the stadium. It’s the right move for animals, and as the site of the stadium will be used to build 38 homes, it will create about 60 new jobs, benefiting the local economy, too.

This is a nationwide trend. All over the country, dog-racing stadiums have been closing down as a result of dwindling attendance, a sign that the British public isn’t interested in watching dogs be exploited in order to line the pockets of the betting industry. Just as in the horse-racing industry, greyhounds are treated like commodities, often at the expense of their welfare.

As we all know, you can’t call something a “sport” when the “athletes” have no choice about taking part – and are likely to be abandoned, mutilated or killed if they don’t make the grade. After a few years of being carted from race to race and typically kept in cages and made to wear muzzles, many greyhounds are “retired” into an early grave or dumped onto the streets by trainers.

Thank you to everyone who wrote to Bolton Council with the message that animals are not ours to use for entertainment. Your voices gave compassion a head start, helping to ensure that fewer dogs will now be mistreated in these archaic races.

Image: Philandthehound / CC BY 2.0