Greyhound racing subjects dogs to significant injury risk, intensive confinement, and high retirement rates that welfare organisations argue cannot be adequately reformed within the sport.
Greyhound racing welfare presents a case study in whether an industry can be reformed adequately or whether structural features make sufficient reform impossible. Advocates of reform argue that better kennel conditions, reduced racing frequency, and mandatory adoption programmes can make racing compatible with acceptable welfare. Critics argue that the fundamental elements of racing, including intensive kennel confinement, high injury rates, and a system that generates surplus dogs, cannot be fixed through incremental reform. The global trend has been toward prohibition rather than reform, with most major racing nations having banned the sport on welfare grounds. The welfare of the substantial existing population of racing greyhounds is best served by supporting adoption organisations regardless of views on the underlying industry.