Greyhound racing no longer on track for ban in Scotland

Ministers have rowed back on plans to ban greyhound racing in Scotland, insisting that outlawing the sport was not “proportionate”.

A ban has been proposed in a long-running petition before the Scottish parliament as well as a forthcoming member’s bill tabled by a Green MSP, Mark Ruskell.

There is only one operating track in Scotland, at Thornton near Kirkcaldy, Fife. Another track in the Shawfield area of Glasgow has not reopened since the pandemic.

Last June Humza Yousaf, then first minister, said he was “more than happy to look at how we can give further effect to Mark Ruskell’s ask”, adding that there was “further for us to go” on animal welfare.

But, appearing before the rural affairs and islands committee on Wednesday, the