Greyhounds bred and trained for racing face high injury rates during their careers and uncertain futures after retirement, with tens of thousands requiring rehoming or facing euthanasia annually.
Racing greyhounds experience both career welfare concerns — injury risk, kennel confinement, limited socialization — and significant post-career vulnerability. The volume of greyhounds retiring from racing each year substantially exceeds the capacity of adoption programs, leading to euthanasia for thousands of healthy dogs. Each euthanized adoptable greyhound represents a welfare failure that could be addressed through either reduced breeding or increased adoption.