Greyt

Er no, the Australian Greyhound Racing Industry is uniquely well equipped in the destruction of dogs. It doesn't need to be compared to Pedigree Dogs Exposed. So if racing at Wentworth Park has been around since 1932 or so, the Greyhound Racing industry in NSW alone has killed in excess of 200,000 dogs. The problem with the facts and figures as they relate to the killing of dogs as a by-product of the Australian Greyhound Racing industry is that none of them are good, save for GAP which makes a very small by valuable difference.

Yes, that story is from the UK. A common theme in such stories is that official bodies charged with, amongst other things, the welfare of dogs, do not condone these practices, admit to them, report them or officially investigate them. These the people we trust to do the right thing. The Emmy Award winning sports show with Bryant Gumbel, on of the US's premier journalists also did an exposé of the US scene. The 15-minute segment included race footage; a breeding farm in Abilene; greyhounds in training and at auction; and several scenes of greyhounds being euthanized, then dumped into plastic bags before being hurled into dumpsters. Other highlights included file footage from May 2002 of Robert Rhodes demonstrating for reporters how he held the rifle when he shot thousands of greyhounds in the back of the head on his Alabama farm and how he used his knee to nudge them into the hole. Also shown were the exhumed bodies of some of those dogs. The scene changes to handlers off-loading greyhounds from a hauler. Goldberg narrates: "On a tip, Real Sports went to a veterinary clinic ten miles from a track [Mobile Greyhound Park] in Alabama." The dogs are walked behind a fence and "less than three minutes later the white greyhound with the brown spot is thrown into a dumpster. What we don't know is how the dogs are put down behind the fence. We do know that over the course of 30 minutes, 16 dogs were disposed of." In the UK, a lot of people said this practice was not happening. And then they found out that a single human had illegally killed and disposed of 10,000 all by himself, just one man. To think that this practice hasn't or doesn't happen in Australia is unfathomable.

It is where ex racing hounds are not officially killed by vets, nor do they turn up in GAP programs, shelters, rescue groups or become pets. In the UK, one man was convicted of killing 10,000 ex racers by himself. Here is an article about it Ten thousand healthy greyhounds were secretly slaughtered and buried in 'killing fields' because they were past their prime, it has been claimed. No longer of use as racing dogs, the greyhounds were said to have been delivered to building merchant David Smith who shot them in the head with a bolt gun, then buried them in a one-acre plot behind his house. Campaigners believe similar operations exist elsewhere the country. Ben Bradshaw, minister for animal welfare, described Mr Smith's business as 'horrendous' and said he would review the evidence of his activities. And MP Eric Martlew, chairman of a crossparty animal welfare group, said he would urge colleagues to launch an inquiry. "This is absolutely appalling. It's time the industry cleaned up its act", Mr Martlew said. "For a long time now people thought this kind of thing was going on without any evidence. "I think the industry is in denial about it. There must have been hundreds, if not thousands of people in the industry that knew what this man was doing. "I also suspect this is not the only canine killing field like this." Mr Smith's business was exposed by The Sunday Times. One trainer, who did not want to be named, told the newspaper: "This man kills dogs for 40 licensed trainers and there are at least 10,000 dogs in his field. "People in the industry have been going to him for years. Many bigwigs knew it was going on." Greyhounds live until they are between 12 and 14. Greyhound racing attracts 3.5million spectators to the tracks a year with more than £2.5billion bet annually. The dogs have only a short racing life and are considered too slow by the time they are three-andahalf to five. Some are re-homed through greyhound rescue centres but the RSPCA estimates about 12,000 vanish a year. 'Euthanasia factory' It is claimed Mr Smith charged £10 to shoot the dogs. He then put their bodies in a wheelbarrow and dumped them in a hole on land near his home in Seaham, County Durham. One dog track insider told The Sunday Times that greyhound owners and trainers had tried to keep quiet about Mr Smith's operation which was previously run by his father. "These dogs have made a lot of people a lot of money and they don't deserve to be shot in the head," the insider added. Since 1997 anyone can own a bolt gun to kill animals without a licence but can be prosecuted if animals are put down inhumanely. Alistair McLean, chief executive of the National Greyhound Racing Club, which governs the sport, described Mr Smith's business as a "euthanasia factory". He said the greyhound industry helped fund the retirement of about 3,000 of the 10,000 dogs that stopped racing at its 30 registered tracks each year. It asks trainers to confirm what happens to dogs after they retire but exact checks are difficult. "Our policy is clear, which is that we would wish the greyhounds to be suitably re-homed. It is absolutely against our rules to use someone like this." Mr Smith said he had stopped putting dogs down, but that he had been doing "society a favour" by disposing of them. "I don't put dogs down anymore, I did my last ones about a week ago," he said. "These are sick and injured dogs that would otherwise be thrown out on to the streets because their owners can't afford vets' bills. "Even the police come to me if there is a dog that has been injured and ask me to put it to sleep." He said he gave any money he made to children's charities Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-396015/The-killing-fieldsof-10-000-greyhounds-old-race.html#ixzz2BrLOsF3G Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Well.. no. It's been public knowledge for a very long time. Stories like this come up once or twice every year, people get upset and then they get on with their lives. What does irk me though is people exaggerating figures. If you have to estimate anything, it's always best to be very conservative- that way, if correct figures are actually released, you don't end up looking dishonest and in the process, discrediting those of us who research carefully and don't engage in hyperbole for the sake of a more dramatic story >.> Well.. no. It's been public knowledge for a very long time. Actually, the Greyhound Racing industry do not publish the figures of how many dogs they kill each year. If I am wrong, please point me in the direction of their publicly available reports... the ones that would distinguish the information from being private or insider knowledge versus what you describe as "public knowledge". What is a fact is that the industry hide the systemic slaughter of these beautiful dogs. To quote the ABC report, "Also for the first time the industry has revealed that thousands of greyhounds are euthanized every year, mostly because they show no potential on the racetrack." Stories like this come up once or twice every year, people get upset and then they get on with their lives. The nature of movements to change is that the public or our leaders take a stand on something they feel strongly enough and change happens. Amongst other things, revealing factual information is part of the process. Some people will move on with their lives and some will do something about what they know, while others will hope that the whole thing blows over. Those of us that can't bear the thought of 8.000 beautiful dogs being slaughtered by the greyhound racing industry each year fall into the former camp. What does irk me though is people exaggerating figures. If you have to estimate anything, it's always best to be very conservative- that way, if correct figures are actually released, you don't end up looking dishonest and in the process, discrediting those of us who research carefully and don't engage in hyperbole for the sake of a more dramatic story Slaughtering 3000 healthy dogs annually from a breeding pool of 7500 in NSW alone is not hyperbole. What irks those of us who care about the fate of these animals is that the industry does not publish the figures of dogs that are slaughtered and does not explain how so many dogs "go missing" each year. At this point in time, the facts are that the industry has not been accountable for the systemic slaughter of so many healthy dogs it is responsible for. But just for the sake of transparency, please provide the carefully researched number of greyhounds PTS for any state over the last five years: 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007

:) Yes they do BC Crazy. I don't have a problem with the racing itself either, they do love it. I am against the overbreeding of greyhounds. As I have said many times no-one will stop the racing industry, whether it be greyhounds or horse racing. You only have to look at photos of the Melbourne Cup in the early 30's in the depression, people couldn't afford to eat yet they still flocked in their thousands to the races. Longclaw has a possible "solution" to the problem as did Hardy's Angel in another thread in the news section. For me it's stop wasting valuable time, effort and breath trying to stop racing...it aint gunna happen...ever. Let's try and regulate the overbreeding of all animals in the racing industry. Greyhound racing is in decline worldwide. See This Article and This Article In the US, there were 50 tracks a decade ago. There are 25 now and even track owners want to shut down racing in favour of Poker and pokies only at their venues. New Zealand is also questioning the right for racing to exist with 3 Greyhounds PTS in just 2 track days this week. See Here With the drug scandals News Story I don't think we will be going back to the 1930's anytime soon. Especially with emerging Links to Organised Crime and the Victorian Greyhound Integrity Commissioner resigning because his own industry didn't actually support integrity in Greyhound Racing. More and more people are coming to come to the conclusion that motherhood statements such as, "they do love it" come with a price tag that is too high to pay.... Organised crime, drug use, injuries, mass euthanasia, being caged for up to 20 hours per day... the list is endless There are lots of fantastic individuals in racing but our society is changing and we have much less tolerance for inhumane practices and industries that do not do well on important big picture issues.

Extrapolating the figures, if there are around 20,000 bred for racing annually across Australia, around 8,000 are killed nationally. The industry is a very large and efficient killing machine.

Some already are:-)

It is semantics. If the entire racing population is 20,000, it is only because the "survivors" get older and are allowed to continue their careers. Nonetheless, 7500 bred annually, 3000 PTS as excess to requirements. I am happy with my math.

Brent Hogan, CEO of Greyhound Racing NSW finally puts a figure to the annual slaughter of the beautiful dogs. He says on Radio Nationals Background Briefing that 3000 dogs are put down annually in NSW. Given that there are around 7500 bred each year in NSW, this equates to fully 40% of these dogs being put down. For all we write on here (and rightfully so) decrying the laws and practices of puppy farms and bybs and selling pets in pet shops etc, in my view, this systemic slaughter makes all the rest look almost angelic. 40% for crying out loud. And does anybody here not think Mr Hogan is quoting the low end of the range? You can catch the Background Briefing show on Radio National tomorrow at 8.05 am and on ABC News Radio at 1.05pm. If you miss both, they will probably have a podcast. Here Is The Link To the Webpage I have heard Mr Hogan on radio before vehemently arguing against the numbers put forward by a rescue group without telling us what the real numbers are. Well now he exposes his dirty little secret. Hopefully, there will be more people willing to: Adopt a Greyhound Foster a Greyhound Become involved in a Greyhound Rescue Group Donate to a Greyhound Rescue Group Recommed Greyhounds to as suitable pets to friends Write to their local MP Seeing Beautiful Greys not being needlessly slaughtered is a process and it is going to take a long time, but for me, this Sunday will be a Greyt Day for the Greys!

Like Zeebie says, the side effects can be intense. My mum and my dog were both on huge doses for years. For those two specifically, it had life saving and positive quality of life effects as well as the negative effects. I got used to cleaning up after my dog and the poor thing would sometimes go whilst lying down so she would effectively bathe in her own urine. It wasn't pretty and it wasn't fun caring for her but you do what you have to do because they need you. in her older stages, when Sasha was on Pred = full of life and almost like her old self. Not on Pred = lifeless. The choice for me was easy, but understandably, possibly not so easy for others. Good luck with your dog.

I use Panoramis here... one large tablet cut in half for 2 x Whippets. I treated my backyard with Lime to get rid of a previous environmental problem.

A Corgi would meet your criteria.

"Boston Terrorists". Very funny!... I am guessing that was you Kirislin?

The family that found them were alerted by a single dog bark...

Congrats. I love it that she can even take a moment to pose for pictures!!

Just be aware of your dogs propensities and have a plan for any behaviour issues at all. When kids are about, I put my dogs on lead as the risk of a child getting bowled over is too great and the consequences too dire for me to even think about. When talking to the friendly regulars, always keep both eyes on your dog. Don't be scared to block another dog from approaching if you do not like its body language. Don't let your dog engage in too rough play... learn to read any signs of escalation and step in quickly before things get out of hand. Look out for other responsible owners dogs. I like to get my dogs to drink straight from a tap as I hate the though of kennel cough infected mucous pits that shared water bowls can be. Have fun:-)

Absolutely... AND what happens once they get to the facilities is also important.... AND can be drastically improved on.

Look what is happening at Geelong Animal Welfare Society Article Here I suspect that the numbers may be somewhat rubbery or may not hold up over time due to the small sample size, nonetheless, it is hard to argue that they are not making significant progress (an remember that they are in Victoria). Too many facilities however have not progressed in line with community expectations. The raw figures may not tell the whole story (although when they are so starkly bad, they are impossible to ignore). What I am irked by is that they are not seeking out best practice methods to maximise the number of rehomable dogs and then saving those dogs. When some facilities are able to operate with kill rates of 12% and some are 39%, something is wrong with the way the latter groups are looking at the problem and how they are responding to it.

Many high profile pounds and shelters do not have a set of processes (application forms, criteria,process, follow up) in place , even in late 2012 when there are mountains of anecdotal evidence to suggest this is best practice., costs little, extends the time available for the dog to be re-homed and can save on vets bills. Pounds and shelters, if they were managed effectively, would have these things in place so that rescues could assist them to save more dogs. They would offer among other things, education, support, assistance with marketing, policies and procedures, selecting and dealing with foster carers etc In the meantime kill rates in the high 40 percentiles still occur. Yes agreed but each state is different and most of these things are legislated in Victoria. Some of the high profile pounds being named did let small rescue in and they were trying to work with them and they ended up in all kinds of bad PR when the people they let in began critising them. In Victoria there are very strict laws about what dogs can and cannot be offered for rehoming and if these stats are going to be included they need to be broken down in case its the stupid laws and not stupid policy thats a bigger problem. I could easily see how the PR nightmare might happen. Sometimes, however it is deserved and effective managers could even use BAD PR to make GOOD changes. More than likely though, they probably turn inward and ban future partnerships with rescues rather than work in a way that will both create future positive PR opportunities (= more goodwill and future $) as well as SAVE more dogs.

Pounds cost most rate payers money. They're not generating funds for their councils. RSPCA NSW made an operating surplus of $12 Million plus in 2010/11... see their annual report for details Here is a LINK

We can't wait for objective stats... they will probably never come anyway but kill rates in the 40%+ bracket are just not acceptable and we shouldn't tolerate them, nor is killing 40% plus dogs that come into pounds that major pounds and shelters claim are not rehomable due to health or temperament issues.... the assessments that major pounds and shelters make in this country is needlessly killing tens of thousands of dogs every year.

Many high profile pounds and shelters do not have a set of processes (application forms, criteria,process, follow up) in place , even in late 2012 when there are mountains of anecdotal evidence to suggest this is best practice., costs little, extends the time available for the dog to be re-homed and can save on vets bills. Pounds and shelters, if they were managed effectively, would have these things in place so that rescues could assist them to save more dogs. They would offer among other things, education, support, assistance with marketing, policies and procedures, selecting and dealing with foster carers etc In the meantime kill rates in the high 40 percentiles still occur.

She could get a formal warning at minimum for trying to sell a customer something. As for her point of view and breeding practices, her employer probably couldn't and shouldn't give a toss.

Dog Owners Group (DOG)..... my approach definitely wouldn't work for my breed (Whippets) :-)

What a stunning boy. I can't help but think that many might fall in love with his looks only to return him because he may turn out to be too much dog for most.