Liz Saville Roberts, Plaid Cymru's leader in Westminster, has called for a ban on horseracing, arguing that 'cruelty shouldn't be a national sport'. The Dwyfor Meirionnydd MP suggested Britain should follow Australian states that have outlawed jump racing.
Writing on X before the Grand National, Ms Saville Roberts claimed that national hunt racing 'doesn't feature in the Welsh rural economy'. This statement has been disputed by the British Horseracing Authority, which reported that 120,000 people attended 70 race meetings at Wales's three courses last year.
Mo Metcalf-Fisher, external affairs director at the Countryside Alliance, criticised the MP's remarks, saying: 'Claiming jump racing doesn't benefit rural Wales is insulting to all the amazing people working in and contributing to the sector. It's about jobs, community, and local pride.'
Ms Saville Roberts's comments follow similar calls from Green Party leader Zack Polanski, a long-standing critic of horseracing who has described the Grand National as combining 'gambling and animal cruelty'. However, her stance appears to conflict with that of former Plaid Cymru interim leader Llyr Gruffydd, who chairs the Senedd's cross-party group on horseracing and has praised Welsh jockeys and trainers.
A Plaid Cymru spokeswoman said Ms Saville Roberts was expressing a personal view, but added that the party supports high animal welfare standards and would build on existing measures if it wins May's Senedd election.
