Seven in 10 voters want government funding of greyhound racing to be scrapped

The survey, carried out among 1,000 likely voters across the country by British polling company Norstat, is described as the “first in-depth voter survey ever conducted on dog racing in Ireland” by its commissioners, American greyhound welfare body Grey2K USA Worldwide.

It found that 70% of respondents believe that other sports — including soccer, rugby, and gaelic football — should be funded equitably in a manner similar to how the €100m Horse and Greyhound Fund is distributed each year.

That State fund, which has been in place since 2001, saw €19.82m distributed to the greyhound industry as part of Budget 2025 last month.

Meanwhile, some 51% of the poll’s respondents were of the opinion that greyhounds bred for racing have a poor quality of life, while just 16% of those polled said they had a favourable impression of the industry.

In terms of the coming election, 59% said they would be unlikely to vote for any candidate who supported the Government’s subsidisation of commercial greyhound breeding and racing, with just 11% saying they would be likely to do so.

Greyhound Racing Ireland, the body responsible for the administration of the sport in Ireland, was contacted for comment regarding the survey’s results, but had not responded at the time of publication.

Patrick Baga, advocacy and research director with Grey2K, said the poll “confirms greyhound racing no longer has the support of the Irish public”.

Describing an election candidate who supports the subsidisation of the industry as risking “political peril”, Mr Baga said the poll’s findings represent “an opportunity for candidates and political parties to be on the right side of an issue voters care about”.

Holly Cairns, Social Democrats leader and a consistent critic of Irish greyhound racing, said the poll indicates the “overwhelming majority of people in the country clearly know what this Government refuses to acknowledge — that greyhound racing is a cruel industry which should not be in receipt of public funds”.

“The public are not behind it, tracks are empty, and the industry is rife with animal welfare scandals — so why are Government and other opposition parties so insistent on keeping this dying sector on life support?” Ms Cairns said.

She added that the subsidies delivered via the horse and greyhound fund would be better “spent on other sports which are crying out for funding across the country, or for critically underfunded animal welfare charities”.

Despite the introduction of a tracing system for racing greyhounds in 2022, deaths of dogs at Irish greyhound tracks increased by 60% year on year over the first six months of 2024.

Separately, at least 2,800 greyhounds born in Ireland in 2021 — more than a fifth of the total — are now either dead or unaccounted for, per data gathered largely from the same traceability system.