SIR - In 2024, it is astonishing that the greyhound racing industry is still in existence. In 2023 alone there were 109 track fatalities, and 4,238 recorded injuries on Greyhound Board of Great Britain licensed tracks.

These dogs feel pain and distress just as easily as those dogs who many of you will have in your homes - valued members of the family. Away from the track, most racing greyhounds live miserable lives: forced into small kennels for the majority of the day with little social engagement or enrichment. Dogs kept in pairs must be continuously muzzled. Abuse, neglect and mistreatment are repeatedly reported.

Because vastly more dogs are bred each year than are ‘needed’ by the industry, countless greyhounds are ‘culled’ each year. Those that are given a second chance are sent to rescue centres - which are already at breaking point. It has been reported that other discarded greyhounds face terrifying fates, such as being sent abroad to race illegally, be bred from, and/or sold for meat.

Anyone lucky enough to have met an ex-racing greyhound will know them to be sweet, gentle dogs who love a good snooze on the sofa. That thousands are suffering the most unimaginable misery every day, all in the name of ‘entertainment’, is barbaric. It’s time for the dog racing days to end.

Visit animalaid.org.uk/greyhound-racing/

Nina Copleston-Hawkens, Campaign Manager, Animal Aid