Greyhound welfare standards

GBGB · Greyhound Board of Great Britain

The welfare regime for licensed greyhound racing, unusual in bringing a sporting code inside UKAS-accredited certification.

01 What It Is

The Greyhound Board of Great Britain is the regulator of licensed greyhound racing in Britain, and it sets welfare standards for the racing greyhounds and the kennels that house them. What makes it unusual among sporting bodies is that part of its welfare regime has been brought inside the formal accreditation chain, rather than resting on the sport policing itself.

02 What It Covers

The standards cover the kennelling and care of greyhounds at licensed racecourses and in trainers’ residential kennels, drawing on a published technical specification for greyhound kennels and the board’s own code of practice. They address housing, husbandry and the day-to-day welfare of the dogs in a trainer’s care.

03 How It Is Checked

Since 2020 every licensed trainer’s kennels are inspected annually by external auditors, and the certification of racecourses and residential kennels is carried out under UKAS national accreditation, the same oversight that backs credible certification in other fields. That sits on top of visits by the board’s own stipendiary stewards and an annual veterinary inspection.

04 Why It Matters

Racing greyhounds spend most of their lives in kennels, out of public view, and welfare in the sport has long been contested. Bringing kennel certification under independent, nationally accredited audit, rather than leaving it to the sport’s own word, is a meaningful difference, and an unusual example of a sporting welfare code held to the accreditation standard.

Primary sources

UKAS accreditation for the GBGB Kennels Schemegbgb.org.uk
Integrity and compliance, GBGBgbgb.org.uk