Valley's role as community asset should not be underestimated
VALLEY'S role as a community asset, in addition to the high welfare standards of GBGB racing, is being stressed amidst further noise about the possibility of greyhound racing being banned in Wales.
The Ystrad Mynach venue has raced under GBGB rules since late 2023 and plans are afoot to reintroduce occasional Saturday evening meetings, with the first scheduled for St David's Day, 1st March.
Track operator and GBGB board member, Katie Bennison, said: “For almost 50 years the track has been providing opportunities for racegoers, local businesses and community groups to come together to celebrate and enjoy greyhound racing. "In 2023 we secured a licence from the Greyhound Board of Great Britain, for which we have undertaken considerable and continued improvements both in terms of the facilities on offer and the standards we uphold.
"These improvements have allowed the Valley to be preserved as a community asset and cultural touchstone, while ensuring the highest standards of greyhound welfare. This is a vital time for the greyhound industry in Wales, and we need to make our voices heard."
An open letter on the track's website goes on to say: "With a vocal minority disproportionately campaigning against our historic sport on outdated and inaccurate information, we feel it is of the utmost important that local voices are also given the appropriate recognition by policy makers."
Further details on how to support the track can be found at www.valleygreyhounds.com
Katie Bennison
Wednesday saw a 'short debate' in the Senedd, the Welsh Parliament, to discuss Carolyn Thomas' MS [member of the Senedd] call for greyhound racing to be banned in Wales.
Thomas was joined by fellow parliamentarians Jane Dodds, Luke Fletcher, Altaf Hussain, Joyce Watson plus Mick Antoniw in making emotive cases for the banning of the sport on welfare grounds and it was left to Huw Irranca-Davies MS, deputy First Minister and cabinet secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, to respond.
He said: "Regarding the specific issue of greyhound racing in Wales, alongside the development of the wider national model for the regulation of animal welfare and building on the written statement we published on 18th December, I am looking forward to sharing our next steps in the spring. "
Following an earlier debate on the matter, GBGB managing director Mark Bird said: “We strongly welcome the Minister’s assertion therefore that, as we would all hope and expect, any subsequent consultation must be carried out in a reasoned and appropriate way, based on evidence.
"This is clearly a wider consultation on animal welfare and should be considered as such, rather than allowing the agendas of some activists to steal headlines through untruths and thus unduly influence policy.
"The role of this consultation must be to remove the emotion, innuendo and myth and look at what is genuinely both in the best interests of animals and consistent across all animal welfare issues."