Cyfarfod y Grŵp Gweithredu'r Gwaharddiad ar Rasio Milgwn: 11 Rhagfyr 2025

Members present

Dr Emily Blackwell (Chair) - Senior Lecturer in Animal Behaviour and Welfare, Bristol Veterinary School
Dr Sam Gaines – RSPCA & Cut the Chase Coalition 
Katie Bennison – Valley Greyhound Stadium 
Richard Brankley – SIS Ltd representative
Scott Fryer – Battersea Dogs and Cats Home
Vanessa Waddon – Hope Rescue & Cut the Chase Coalition 
Allan Dallimore – Caerphilly County Borough Council
Gareth Walters – Welsh Local Government Association

Secretariat 

Caitlin Doyle – Welsh Government Official

Welsh Government support

Jackie Price - Head of Greyhound Bill team

1.1 Dr Emily Blackwell welcomed everyone to the meeting.

1.2 Professor Tim Parkin and Sarah Carr sent their apologies.

2.1 Minutes from the November meeting will be reviewed as one alongside the minutes from today’s meeting, as it is a continuation of that meeting.

2.2 Scott Fryer asked for a correction to the Novembers minutes, that the note on the homing of greyhounds from Valley Greyhound Stadium will come from a Battersea perspective rather than the Welsh Greyhound Partnership.

Action 1 – Caitlin Doyle to make the requested amendment to the November minutes.

2.3 Dr Blackwell thanked Group members for their work on completing the actions from the previous meeting. Progress will be reviewed in detail at the next meeting alongside the actions from today’s meeting.

3.1 Jackie Price provided an update on the progress of the Bill - the next major milestone is the debate on the General Principles of the Bill which will take place in Plenary on 16 December. 

Welfare of dogs

3.2 Dr Blackwell shared her intention to send a letter to GBGB asking for more information on areas of interest within the Group. She asked the Group to share any questions they may have for inclusion with her.
Action 2 – Group members to provide any questions for GBGB to Dr Blackwell.

3.3 Vanessa Waddon talked the Group through the proposed plan for eligibility of greyhounds raced at Valley. 

3.4 There was discussion around how it could be determined that a greyhound has raced at Valley during its career, however it was acknowledged there may currently be some gaps in what systems rehoming centres have access to.

3.5 Scott Fryer suggested a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) might be useful between the Welsh Government, the Welsh Greyhound Partnership (WGP) and Valley Greyhound Stadium to better understand how many greyhounds may need rehoming once a ban comes into force. 

3.6 Dr Blackwell asked Scott to work with WGP to begin drafting a skeleton of an MOU to share with the Group.
Action 3 – Scott Fryer to work with WGP to start drafting an MOU.

3.7 Richard Brankley suggested there could be a period of pre-approval before a ban comes into force so trainers can not exploit the rehoming avenue where the greyhounds may not otherwise be eligible; for example, where the trainer has raced their greyhounds at other tracks for most of their careers then transitioned to Valley at the last moment to take advantage of the rehoming scheme.

Enforcement

3.8 Caerphilly County Borough Council have confirmed they would need no further resources to enforce a ban. 

3.9 There was conversation about illegal hare coursing and the strain this may have on the workload of enforcement officers. It was agreed this should be monitored. Vanessa Waddon suggested this could be mitigated by ensuring the dogs are going through the right channels for rehoming.

4.1 Dr Blackwell is currently drafting the report and hopes to share a draft with the rest of the Group by the end of the year.

4.2 The report contains a summary of discussions that have been held thus far and includes recommendations and suggestions that have been made by the Group.

4.3 Dr Gaines reiterated that a coming into force date is crucial to allow rehoming charities to plan - the Group is in agreement that a phased approach would be better to ensure the welfare of the dogs.

4.4 Katie Bennison has requested a more in-depth economic impact assessment be carried out before a coming into force date is decided.

4.5 Richard Brankley asked about the progress of an assessment being carried out by external consultants on Valley’s behalf – there had been no progress since the last meeting, however Allan Dallimore offered to put a list together of external agencies and share with relevant Group members.

4.6 It was agreed some internal discussion within the Group would be required to decided how best to progress this suggestion.

Action 4 – Allan Dallimore the share details of agencies with relevant Group members.

Action 1

Allocated to Caitlin Doyle

Caitlin Doyle to make the requested amendment to the November minutes.

Action 2    

Allocated to all    

Group members to provide any questions for GBGB to Dr Blackwell.

Action 3

Allocated to Scott Fryer

Scott Fryer to work with WGP to start drafting an MOU.

Action 4

Allocated to Allan Dallimore 

Allan Dallimore the share details of agencies with relevant Group members.

Action 5 

Allocated to Caitlin Doyle

Caitlin Doyle to add requested point to a future agenda.

Action 6

Allocated to Katie Bennison

Katie Bennison to send further visit dates to Caitlin Doyle.