First they came for the greyhounds. When will they come for you? That is the question facing every activity involving animals following the introduction of a Bill to ban greyhound racing by the Welsh government this week. The legislation is both cynical, in that we know it was the price the Labour government paid for the support it needed from the Liberal Democrats to pass its budget, and a hugely dangerous act of virtue signalling.

The justification for the ban is, at least in part, that greyhounds are injured and sometimes die during racing and training. This is unarguable, but it is also very evident - and the Welsh government accepts this - that the regulations imposed by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) and its relentless focus on dog welfare reduces such injury and death to an absolute minimum and protects the welfare of greyhounds throughout their lives. The Welsh government, however, is holding the greyhound industry to an impossible standard where no dog is ever hurt.

The explanatory memorandum that accompanies the Bill says that it is not simply about welfare and that “there are wider ethical and moral considerations, and many individuals, organisations, Ministers and Members of the Senedd believe that racing greyhound is unacceptable and outdated” and concludes that “animals should not be objectified or perceived as commodities for our entertainment, but rather as sentient beings with their own unique sets of needs”.

Apply exactly these principles to horse racing, eventing, any other equine sports, pigeon racing, or catch and release angling and there can only be one logical conclusion: they must be banned too. None of those activities can claim that animals are never injured or killed (or objectified) however much the participants in all those sports are concerned with the welfare of their animals. Indeed, as renowned racehorse trainer and vet Mark Johnston has pointed out: “The argument is about dogs getting injured when racing, and I hesitate to say it, but the injury rate in greyhounds is far less than in racehorses”. 

The real reason that greyhound racing has been picked out is that, as the Welsh government points out, it has “has experienced a decline in popularity in recent years”. There is only one greyhound track in Wales and about 10 kennels, which makes the sport an ideal target for the sort of virtue signalling legislation that Welsh politicians are proposing. All the talk of morality and ethics is simply a smokescreen for the tyranny of a (perceived) majority seeking to impose its morality on all.

There is a lot of confusion about the difference between animal welfare and animal rights, but in their approach to this issue the Welsh government and its Liberal Democrat supporters are at least clear about their position. Looking after the welfare of animals is not enough. Animals have the right not to be objectified and the right not to be perceived as commodities for our entertainment.

This is a hugely dangerous path which logically ends with bans on pets and livestock farming. The Welsh government may have a majority for this legislation, but it is incumbent on all of us to expose the cynicism of its approach and the very real threat it poses to so much more than just one greyhound track in Wales.