Resolution Statement – 03085-25 The Greyhound Board of Great Britain v Nation.Cymru

Summary of Complaint

1. The Greyhound Board of Great Britain complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation that Nation.Cymru breached Clause 1 (Accuracy) of the Editors’ Code of Practice in

· an article headlined “Dog rescue charity shares disappointment in Welsh Government”, published on 20 December 2024;

· an article headlined “Track fatalities increase as Wales prepares to introduce greyhound racing ban”, published on 26 June 2025.

2. Both articles appeared online only.

3. The first article reported on the phasing out of greyhound racing in Wales, and that a consultation on this topic had received 1,180 responses. The article also said that, “[a]ccording to the industry’s own figures, since 2018, more than 2,700 greyhounds have died or were put to sleep following their participating in greyhound racing around the U.K” and that, “[l]ast year alone, 4,238 dogs were injured racing”. It also included a statement from the complainant, which said: “Meanwhile, despite coordinated and misleading campaigns led by animal rights groups against the sport – as clearly demonstrated in the large swathe of duplicate responses highlighted in the summary – this has not achieved any definitive support for a phased ban”.

4. The second article reported on figures it said demonstrated an increase of injuries and deaths for racing greyhounds. It reported that: since 2017 “more than 35,000 [greyhounds] have experienced injuries"; ”thousands of dogs” suffered injuries as a result of racing “last year”; there were “346 racing-related deaths” in 2024; and since 2017 “4,034 greyhounds have died or been put to sleep because of their involvement with racing".

5. The complainant said the first article was inaccurate as it omitted that over 40% of the responses to the consultation were duplicated. It said these responses had been made as part of a campaign on behalf of an animal welfare charity. It also said that it was inaccurate to report that 4,238 dogs had been injured – rather there had been 4,238 recorded injuries.

6. The complainant said the second article was inaccurately reported that more than 35,000 greyhounds had experienced injuries since 2017 and that “thousands” of greyhounds had been last year. It reiterated that the figures related to greyhound injuries represented the total number of injuries sustained, rather than the number of individual greyhounds who had been injured.

7. The complainant also said the second article reported inaccurate figures in relation to the numbers of greyhounds that had died. It said the figures related to the total number of greyhounds within the racing population, excluding only those which died of terminal illness. It said, for example, these numbers included greyhounds which died of sudden cardiac death, were put to sleep on veterinary advice for non-racing reasons, and those which were behaviourally evaluated and deemed unsuitable for homing and were put to sleep.

8. The complainant also said that they should have been contacted prior to the publication of the second article.

9. With regards to the first article, the publication said it was not inaccurate to omit reference to the fact that greyhounds dying at the greyhound tracks had halved. It said that the number of dogs dying and the level of injuries were seen as unacceptably high by the Welsh Government, hence the decision to ban the sport. It also noted that this article contained a quote from the complainant. which included reference to the campaign and highlighted duplicate responses in the consultation.

10. With regards to the second article, the publication said the figures had been taken from a press release issued from the RSPCA, which derived from a table produced by the complainant. The publication said it had no reason to doubt the accuracy of these figures. 

11. With regards to the second article, the publication said it recognised that the figures referred to the number of injuries, rather than the number of injured dogs. It offered to amend the article and publish a correction. With regards to the figures in relation to the death of greyhounds, it said there was some ambiguity to the figures, and said it would publish a further sentence from the press release which broke down the reasons behind the deaths of the greyhounds.

Relevant Clause Provisions

Clause 1 (Accuracy)

i) The Press must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information or images, including headlines not supported by the text.

ii) A significant inaccuracy, misleading statement or distortion must be corrected, promptly and with due prominence, and — where appropriate — an apology published. In cases involving IPSO, due prominence should be as required by the regulator. 

iii) A fair opportunity to reply to significant inaccuracies should be given, when reasonably called for.

iv) The Press, while free to editorialise and campaign, must distinguish clearly between comment, conjecture and fact.

Mediated Outcome

12. The complaint was not resolved through direct correspondence between the parties. IPSO therefore began an investigation into the matter.

13. During IPSO’s investigation the publication offered to amend the first article, so that rather than reading “Last year alone, 4,238 dogs were injured racing”, it would instead read “Last year alone, 4,238 injuries were sustained by greyhounds that race”. It also offered to publish the following correction as a footnote:

The original version of this article contained the incorrect assertion that “Last year alone, 4,238 dogs were injured racing”; in fact, a total of 4,238 injuries were sustained by greyhounds during 2024. We apologise for the error.

14. It also offered to amend the second article to state: “New statistics released today (26 June) by GBGB - the organisation responsible for licensing greyhound tracks in Great Britain - reveal there were 123 fatalities at tracks in 2024, a total of 346 racing-related deaths and 3,809 injuries sustained by dogs. Since 2017, there have now been 1,357 fatalities at licensed tracks, 4,034 greyhounds have died or been put to sleep because of their involvement with racing, while more than 35,000 injuries have been recorded.” It also offered to publish the following correction as a footnote:

The original version of this article contained the incorrect assertion that since 2017 more than 35,000 greyhounds had been injured racing. In fact, since 2017 more than 35,000 injuries have been sustained by greyhounds that race. We apologise for the error.

15. The complainant said that this would resolve the matter to its satisfaction.

16. As the complaint was successfully mediated, the Complaints Committee did not make a determination as to whether there had been any breach of the Code.

Date complaint received: 14/07/2025

Date complaint concluded by IPSO: 28/10/2025