Calls for Irish action as Tasmania sets date to end greyhound racing

A landmark decision by the Tasmanian state government to end greyhound racing by June 30, 2029, has intensified pressure on Ireland to follow suit, according to Greyhound Action Ireland.

The move follows recent bans in Wales and New Zealand, with Scotland expected to follow and Mexico having already outlawed the sport in July 2024.

“All the welfare concerns that have prompted the bans in Wales, New Zealand and Tasmania, the track deaths, the injuries, the doping, exist in this country,” said Nuala Donlon, spokesperson for Greyhound Action Ireland.

“In fact, the welfare abuses here are even worse since the Irish greyhound industry breeds far more greyhounds than it needs for racing, or can export to the UK.

“As a result, thousands of healthy young dogs who are surplus to requirement are killed or disappear each year.”

According to the group, 2024 was the worst year for greyhound deaths on Irish racetracks since records began in 2014.

Of 389 injuries recorded last year, 202 greyhounds, more than half, were killed as a result.

This means 5% of all dogs raced in 2024 died from track injuries. A further 11 dogs died during official and unofficial trials.

In the first four months of 2025 alone, 56 greyhounds have died and 52 have been injured on Irish racetracks. Six died in a single day on April 25. If the current rate continues, this year could surpass last year’s death toll.

Figures from the Irish Greyhound Board’s traceability system (RCETS) also show thousands of dogs are killed each year because they are surplus to requirements.

Of the 7,630 non-coursing greyhounds born in 2021 still in Ireland, 47% (3,583) are dead or unaccounted for. Of these, 2,751 are confirmed dead – the oldest just four and a half years old.

The group says the real figures could be even higher, as some dogs from Northern Ireland remain listed as ‘active’ long after they have stopped racing.

“The Irish Greyhound Board’s much-vaunted traceability was put in place in order to disprove claims that thousands of healthy dogs are being killed each year, but it has done no such thing,” Ms Donlon said.

“It has, instead, confirmed our worst fears. Indeed, the kill rate here is likely to increase with the closure of tracks in the UK, since 85% of greyhounds raced in the UK are imported from Ireland.”

Like Tasmania, the Irish greyhound racing industry depends entirely on state funding, but the sums here are far greater.

Last year, it received €19.4 million in public money, compared to the equivalent of €4.2 million in Tasmania.

Since 2001, the industry has been allocated €368 million from the Exchequer, despite not returning a dividend to the state in more than 25 years.

Greyhound racing is now legal in only a small number of countries, Ireland, mainland Australia, England, and Scotland (for now). Only two operational tracks remain in the United States, both in West Virginia.

Greyhound Action Ireland says it is urging the government to phase out public funding for the sport within the next three to five years, and to resist pressure from a small number of TDs in Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Independent Technical Group.