The future of a Lanarkshire dog racing track remains murky as campaigners against the sport spoke at the Scottish Parliament last week.
The Scottish Parliament's Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee has been asked by campaigners from Scotland Against Greyhound Exploitation (Sage) to call for a complete ban on the sport.
That would see a closure of Shawfield Stadium in Rutherglen, which is the only remaining licenced track in Scotland.
Earlier this year we told how 15 dogs had died at the track in just a three year span, from 2017 to 2020, while 197 injuries occurred in the same period.
Stats also revealed a number of dogs had been found with drugs in their system during 2018 and 2019 - including five animals with cocaine.
Speaking at the committee to MSPs, Gill Docherty of SAGE said: "Fundamentally, we cannot ignore the inherent risks of greyhound racing itself. These risks are present whether the track is regulated or unregulated.
"They cannot be mitigated against with welfare measures or cleverly named initiatives.
"It is a fact that making six dogs race at speed in excess of 40mph counter clockwise round an oval track results in a high rate of collisions and injuries, with the first end being notorious for causing the most injuries."
The campaign group, who regularly protested outside Shawfield when races were held there, also fear that the animals could suffer psychological trauma from the races.
Scottish Greens MSP, Mark Ruskell has now backed the petition by SAGE to stop the sport, which received 130,159 signatures.
He stated: "I genuinely think this is an industry that is really beyond reform.
"We're talking about dogs going around a track at 40mph, the inherent risks in terms of collision between dogs, between the dogs and the track infrastructure.
"It raises not just serious welfare questions about how we treat and deal with the injuries that arise from greyhound racing but also major ethical considerations about why we put dogs in that situation in the first place, knowing full well they're going to have a major risk of injury or death."
However, Mark Bird, chief executive of GBGB, argued that welfare was "paramount" in licensed greyhound racing.
He said: "What is often overlooked by those who would like to see racing banned is that the protection racing greyhound receives goes far beyond what is afforded to domestic dogs in the UK.
"As regulator, we closely monitor the welfare of all GBGB registered greyhounds and have a zero-tolerance approach to any mistreatment of greyhounds within our sport.
"Each greyhound racing at one of our tracks is seen by a vet both before and after racing and their trainers' kennels are regularly inspected by vets, our stipendiary stewards and independent auditors to ensure they comply with out high welfare standards."
The GBGB insist they have strict anti-doping policies and say all instances are reported to the appropriate authorities and could also result in a lifetime ban for trainers.
Races at Shawfield have not resumed since the coronavirus pandemic.
Rutherglen MSP Clare Haughey, who previously met with the owners of Shawfield and GBGB representatives, told Lanarkshire Live she still has concerns about the stadium hosting the sport.
She stated: "Having had significant concerns about greyhound racing in Rutherglen, I met with both the management of Shawfield and the Greyhound Board of Great Britain a couple of years ago to hear what they were doing to uphold the welfare of the animals.
"As I’ve said publicly before, I was unsatisfied with their responses and I still remain concerned about the safety of racing greyhounds.
"’I've noted with interest the appearance of Scotland Against Greyhound Exploitation before the Rural Affairs Committee, and I welcome the steps the Committee are taking to investigate this matter further."
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