Support for Valley Greyhounds petition supporting greyhound racing

Valley Greyhounds in Ystrad Mynach is the only greyhound racing stadium in Wales and has been at the centre of the recent debate surrounding the future of the sport.

The petition was submitted by David Tams, whose father Malcolm runs the stadium. They said the petition aims to demonstrate the popularity of the sport.

Valley Greyhounds’ petition follows proposals for a phased ban on greyhound racing in Wales.

At the time of writing, 10,287 people had signed the petition in support of greyhound racing.

Malcolm Tams (above), 67, who has run the stadium since 2008, said: “We are pleased to see such a swift response from people to sign the petition and we thank them for supporting us to reach our target.

“This is the springboard we needed to put the argument in favour of racing firmly forward and challenge the rhetoric that we have heard.

“We ask that we are afforded fair and equal recognition for our campaign and for the popularity and historic role that greyhound racing holds in Wales.”

He continued: “We had support to sign our petition from the horse racing community and other sporting animal enthusiasts who are concerned about the influence of an animal rights agenda which is threatening bans on sporting and working animals, farming and fisheries and even whether we are allowed to keep pets.

“This is a significant risk for all activities involving animals and represents an extreme agenda that would wipe out livelihoods, pastimes and hobbies that are intrinsic to Welsh communities.”

The track at Valley Greyhounds

The Senedd’s website states that the Petitions Committee considers all petitions that get more than 10,000 signatures for a debate. Petitions can collect signatures for a maximum of six months.

This follows a previous petition by dog charity Hope Rescue calling for a ban on greyhound racing, which received 35,101 signatures.

It has been debated by the Senedd’s petitions committee and the committee’s recommendation of a phased ban will go out to public consultation this year.

Additionally, the #CutTheChase campaign has seen Hope Rescue, Dogs Trust, Blue Cross, RSPCA and Greyhound Rescue Wales join forces to call for greyhound racing to end in Wales.

Hope Rescue claims it took in 200 injured dogs, which were linked to the Valley Greyhounds track, during its two years on the site conducting the ‘Amazing Greys’ welfare project.

The track at Valley Greyhounds

David Tams has accused the charity of “massively” inflating the number of injured greyhounds.

Hope Rescue were asked to leave the Valley Greyhounds track after submitting the petition to ban greyhound racing.

In response to Valley Greyhounds’ petition, founder and senior head of operations for Hope Rescue, Vanessa Waddon, said: “The counter petition has reached enough signatures to be considered for a debate. But it’s not a guarantee that a debate will be forthcoming, especially when the matter is already due to go out to consultation later this year which will provide an opportunity for all parties to be able to make their representations and submit evidence.

“It’s interesting that one of their criticisms of our 35,000-strong petition was that just under 19,000 of those came from Wales. To date, their petition has only amassed 2,817 signatures from Wales.”

Plans to expand the stadium

Hope Rescue also campaigned against further development of the stadium. Valley Greyhounds has submitted a number of planning applications for an additional bar area, a function room, a new judge’s box, and a vets surgery to be built on site.

The plans to extend the stadium is part of Valley Greyhounds’ aim to obtain a professional racing licence by January 2024. Construction work has already begun on site.

The applications have been refused by Caerphilly County Borough Council, under delegated powers, due to an “inadequate” transport statement and a lack of flood consequences assessment.

Malcolm Tams said the plans had been re-submitted and added: “At the end of the day, we have dealt with the two problems, so they can’t refuse it.”

Hope Rescue has said the development of the track would result in an “intensification” of greyhound racing and result in more injuries and deaths.

What have local politicians said?

Caerphilly County Borough Council’s cabinet member for planning, Cllr Philippa Leonard, said she was against the stadium’s plans to extend.

Cllr Leonard said: “My personal thoughts on it is I would rather greyhound racing be abolished in Wales, but the application is beyond my control and will be down to the committee.

“I’m an animal lover myself and I don’t like the way they are treated after their careers finish.”

Many Senedd Members have supported the ban on greyhound racing publicly, including Plaid Cymru’s Delyth Jewell and Peredur Owen Griffiths, as well as Labour’s Rhianon Passmore.

Caerphilly’s Labour MS Hefin David said: “While I’m opposed to the extension, I’m keen to have dialogue with all parties involved.”