Chamber and committees

Greyhound Racing (Offences) (Scotland) Bill - Financial Memorandum

Overview

The Bill will make it illegal for someone who owns, or is responsible for, a greyhound or a racetrack, to race, or allow the racing of, a greyhound on an oval racetrack in Scotland.

Most tracks used for greyhound racing are oval in shape. The Bill also allows the Scottish Government to regulate to make it illegal to race greyhounds on other types of tracks. For example, this could include making it illegal to race greyhounds on a straight track.

If someone is convicted of an offence under the terms of the Bill they may be subject to a fine or prison sentence. The court may also impose other penalties. These include:

• preventing someone from owning, or keeping a greyhound that was present, when the offence was committed;
• banning someone from owning, keeping, or working with a greyhound for a period of time;
• taking a greyhound away from someone who has been previously banned from owning, keeping, or working with a greyhound, but who has continued to do so.

Financial Memorandum

As with all Bills, the Finance and Public Administration Committee invites written evidence on the estimated financial implications of the Bill as set out in its accompanying Financial Memorandum (FM).

Read the FM for this Bill: Financial Memorandum.

Your Views

The Committee has launched a call for views on the Financial Memorandum of the Bill. The closing date for submissions is Monday 11 August 2025.

You can submit your views to the Committee on Citizen Space.