In a second cross-party attack in 24 hours, the Senedd Legislation, Justice and Constitution (LJC) Committee has joined their Culture Committee colleagues in condemning the process behind the proposed Bill to ban greyhound racing.

The LJC’s report today has said: “We consider that the introduction of a Bill before all relevant impact assessments have been fully completed represents poor legislative practice, particularly in circumstances where the Bill may impact on human rights.” Before the expected Senedd vote on 16th December, the LJC Committee has gone so far as to recommend that the Minister should publish a written statement setting out whether and how the Bill is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) following concerns raised by Committee members.

The Committee have likewise condemned the lack of appropriate consultation, writing that the broader animal licensing consultation undertaken in 2023 does not represent “an appropriate substitute for the use of documents that seek views on legislative proposals” such as consultations on a White Paper or draft Bill.

Summarising these shortcomings, the Committee asserts that they “consider that the Welsh Government’s approach to legislating for a ban on greyhound racing has, in several respects, fallen short of the standard of good legislative practice that we would normally expect.”

Mark Bird, CEO of the Greyhound Board of Great Britain, said:

“After this second cross-party attack in 24 hours, the Welsh Government’s Bill is in tatters.

“Two consecutive Senedd Committee reports have piled criticism on the Government’s failures in due diligence throughout this Bill process. With the LJC Committee – whose sole responsibility is ensuring the quality and grounding for all Welsh legislation – now joining the Culture Committee in condemning this Bill, pressure is mounting on Welsh Government to drop this botched process.

“From insufficient evidence and public consultation to the failure to consider the human rights of those who would be affected, every aspect of this Bill continues to be torn apart by those tasked with its scrutiny.

“It is long past time for the Welsh Government to accept the manifest failures of this process – as two Committees now have – and prioritise greyhound welfare through regulation rather than doubling down on their Davies-Dodds greyhound folly.”