About Forever Hounds Trust
Greyhounds and lurchers are being given up or abandoned at an alarming rate – from injured racing greyhounds and neglected lurchers used for illegal hare coursing to pets whose owners can no longer afford to keep them.
Forever Hounds Trust care for the dogs with food and a warm bed, a full health check and any veterinary treatment needed, as well as behavioural assessment, tailored training, fun and enrichment to rehabilitate and prepare them for life as a family pet.
They provide post-homing support to help their rescue dogs settle into their new life. They also give their new families advice from their qualified behaviourists, as needed, for the dogs’ entire lives, so that any issues arising can be addressed and the dogs can indeed stay in their homes forever.
Their Centre for Homing and Welfare is in Devon, but they rescue from across the country. At any one time, they care for 14-16 dogs in their kennels and 4-8 hounds in our foster homes.
Forever Hounds Trust support “Home from Home” rehoming where dogs stay with their current owners (where safe to do so) while they look for and approve suitable new families.
They also transport additional dogs to other rescues, working collaboratively across the sector to save as many sighthounds as possible.
They also help their ‘Supported Dogs’ with veterinary fees, when needed. These are hounds with pre-existing uninsurable health conditions where they have agreed to pay part or all veterinary costs for the dog’s life, so that they could be adopted into loving homes rather than having to live permanently in kennels. As some dogs pass away and new ones join, the number of dogs in this scheme fluctuates.
Forever Hound Trust's Challenges
In 2024, at least 3,988 greyhounds needed a home after racing (GBGB 2024 Injury and Retirement Data). The number of lurchers abandoned or seized from illegal coursing remains undetermined.
As a rescue, they see first-hand the emotional and physical scars the greyhound racing industry leave their discarded dogs with. Dogs often come to them in poor physical condition. Some have horrendous injuries sustained on a racetrack. It is all too common to see dogs with broken legs, requiring surgery or amputation. They also see de-gloving injuries and serious gashes that take months to heal, head injuries, spinal injuries and a whole host of aches, pains and sores.
If organisations like Forever Hounds Trust were not available and willing to take in these injured dogs, cover their veterinary bills and care for them, it is likely they would be killed as they are no longer of any value to the racing industry.
Even those greyhounds without obvious injury often have problems caused from a life of racing or neglect – rotting teeth, skin lesions, bald patches or muscular skeletal problems requiring physiotherapy, as well as behavioural issues from a lack of socialisation with other breeds and with humans.
It is so common for greyhounds to have these problems that it has been normalised. But it’s not normal. It is the result of abuse that would not be condoned for any other breed of dog.
Lurchers don’t fare any better. Used for illegal hare coursing and its associated gambling, they too are exploited, neglected and then discarded when they are injured and no longer able to hunt.
The overbreeding and exploitation in the world of racing and coursing means a never-ending influx of dogs with serious health needs and very lengthy rehabilitation and homing journeys.
Add to this the current widespread homing crisis across the entire animal rescue sector, with few members of the public able to adopt rescue dogs due to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, and they quickly run out of kennel space.
They are always in a position where they have hounds waiting for a rescue space. The average time dogs then stay in their rescue is currently 9 weeks, with their longest stayers exceeding 12 months.
That is why they are currently recruiting more foster homes (aiming for 6 more in 2025) and are looking for an alternative, larger site for their rescue with increased kennel capacity.
Forever Hound Trust's Achievements
Since 1996, they have rescued and homed more than 10,700 greyhounds and lurchers, giving them a second chance at life with loving families.
Their vision is a day when every greyhound and lurcher is free from risk or need. But healing and homing hounds is not enough. For real sighthound welfare to thrive, we need to stop the abuse from happening in the first place.
With dogs continuing to be injured and killed on the UK’s greyhound racing tracks, over-breeding contributing to the neglect and deaths of dogs, and poor welfare conditions for many of the dogs exploited as a money-making commodity by the greyhound racing industry, Forever Hounds Trust is calling for a phasing out of greyhound racing in the UK.
Animal welfare in Wales is taking a significant leap forward. On 18th February 2025 the Welsh Government announced the news that greyhound racing will be banned in Wales, the first UK nation to take this step. This landmark decision came in response to a public consultation, to which they contributed a detailed and carefully considered response. Forever Hounds Trust are keenly awaiting confirmation of the date when the ban will actually come into force.
Although they are based in Devon, their commitment to the welfare of animals, and especially greyhounds, knows no borders. They are proud to be playing a central role in a new coalition of rescue organisations working to safeguard the future of the greyhounds that will be affected by the impending ban. As the racing industry in Wales winds down, many greyhounds will need support, care, and homing — and the Welsh Greyhound Partnership are ready to help ensure their safety and well-being.
Collaboration is key to this effort. Forever Hounds Trust are actively working with fellow rescue groups, particularly those based in Wales, to share their expertise and coordinate resources. Their extensive experience in greyhound rescue and rehabilitation positions them to provide valuable support during this transition.
Forever Hounds Trust are proud to be part of the movement driving real, positive change for animals right across the UK.
