Four Corners: Greyhound Racing: Live Baiting Revelations

[mita]

NSW's frame of reference sounds good ... the whole caboodle, including welfare issues for the dogs.

[Greyt]

Wow, that is more than probably anyone expected in NSW.

This will be a warts and all exposé and some individuals will pay a heavy price.

It will be interesting to see how many of the eventual recommendations will be adopted - it will definitely put pressure on other states to follow.

[m-j]

Reasons for live baiting ....

This in the Gympie Times:

http://www.gympietim...-that-/2563958/

DISGRACED greyhound trainer Tom Noble claims that hundreds of greyhounds would have been destroyed by their owners if they hadn't been able to kill live animals.

The Churchable trainer, now banned from the sport for life, said greyhounds who refused to chase were given live kills on the lure in a final bid to prove they could be competitive.

Not what I have found. I worked at a rearing and spelling kennel for 10 yrs, my job there was to teach the dogs to chase a toy, easiest job I've ever had. With the hundreds of dogs I did this with there was only two that I just couldn't get to chase the toy. I have had dogs pass up the opportunity to chase wild rabbits that just happened to be in the paddock we were in to continue chasing after a toy. Not all the dogs were straight onto the toy for various reasons, but the closest I ever came to using an animal was to scent a toy with some fox fur I got from some road kill. To be honest I'm actually surprised trainers bother to take the risk to live bait as the dog's body language and enthusiasm and determination that was displayed in the 4 corners report was nothing that I haven't seen thousands of times with a toy and with dogs that initially weren't interested in chasing.

I mean look at detection dogs, I have seen videos of dogs lunging madly on prong collars to go and search for a scent all this for the opportunity to play with a toy.

I think it would not be beneficial to stop racing, the rules that are already in place and those that will be put into place need to be POLICED. Rules are not worth a pinch of poo if they aren't policed.

The dogs absolutely love running and to take away the opportunity to do so would be sad. I know pet dogs get this opportunity but generally the terrain they run around on isn't as safe as a sand track. If there were as many pet dogs doing lure coursing as there is racing each week I feel quite confident I'm right in saying there would be more accidents . Greyhounds are the most accident prone breed I ever worked with or owned.

That's just my two cents worth.

[mita]

[To be honest I'm actually surprised trainers bother to take the risk to live bait as the dog's body language and enthusiasm and determination that was displayed in the 4 corners report was nothing that I haven't seen thousands of times with a toy and with dogs that initially weren't interested in chasing.

I think it would not be beneficial to stop racing, the rules that are already in place and those that will be put into place need to be POLICED.

The dogs absolutely love running and to take away the opportunity to do so would be sad. I know pet dogs get this opportunity but generally the terrain they run around on isn't as safe as a sand track. If there were as many pet dogs doing lure coursing as there is racing each week I feel quite confident I'm right in saying there would be more accidents . Greyhounds are the most accident prone breed I ever worked with or owned.

The owner/trainer we knew would agree with you on the first & the last. He said the live baiting was not necessary because the greys already had a strong urge to run & chase, and other training & opportunity could bring it out. He didn't worry if one of his greys was still just not 'into it' as he'd rehome it as a pet. He loved greys as a breed, even those who didn't shine on the track. Which was why he also supported greys being shown.

Even on the good sand tracks, he said greys can be prone to injury. His rule of thumb was to retire his racing greys, before injuries started to build up ... & rehome as pets.

While I agree with you that rules are useless without policing them, I can't see how what owner/trainers do with their greys on their own private property or in bushland areas, can ever be policed.

Edited March 7, 2015 by mita

[m-j]

Even on the good sand tracks, he said greys can be prone to injury. His rule of thumb was to retire his racing greys, before injuries started to build up ... & rehome as pets.

While I agree with you that rules are useless without policing them, I can't see how what owner/trainers do with their greys on their own private property or in bushland areas, can ever be policed.

True but surprise visits at any time of the day by authorities (preferably an independent body) could help to keep people reasonably honest, it has worked in hotels with the RSA laws. Owners and breeders should have to explain what happened to the pups that weren't registered as race dogs and they should be required to produce proof of what happened to them, same when the dog has finished racing . Only dogs and bitches that have officially run x time over x distance should allowed to be bred from.

In the time I was at the kennels my boss had never had a visit to check that the kennels were up to standard.

I have seen dogs injure themselves just by running in races or during training/exercise, no interference from other dogs or objects. I've never had that as much with other breeds I have owned or worked with.

I only let my dogs (pets) off lead in certain places, only one at a time, I hold the other dogs I have with me right next to me and I hold my breathe while they are running around. I'm hopeless To be fair I have had two dogs break their legs in my flat clear back yard, one clipped the clothes line and the other I didn't see, another fell over and smashed his shoulder into many little pieces while just running in an area he had run around in many times before.

Edited March 7, 2015 by m-j

[Rebanne]

Owners and breeders should have to explain what happened to the pups that weren't registered as race dogs and they should be required to produce proof of what happened to them, same when the dog has finished racing . Only dogs and bitches that have officially run x time over x distance should allowed to be bred from.

I believe there are already rules in place to cover the disposal of dogs not wanted and also breeding restrictions.

[m-j]

Owners and breeders should have to explain what happened to the pups that weren't registered as race dogs and they should be required to produce proof of what happened to them, same when the dog has finished racing . Only dogs and bitches that have officially run x time over x distance should allowed to be bred from.

I believe there are already rules in place to cover the disposal of dogs not wanted and also breeding restrictions.

Yes but they were pretty lax which is why the policing needs to be done, well that has been my experience with rescuing and rehoming dogs from the kennels. It did make it easy for me as I hate paperwork but any owners can just as easily dispose of their dog in other ways, no questions asked.

As far as I'm aware it is quite ok to mate two dogs together so long as they are registered. Many dogs that are registered haven't raced they may waiting see if some relative is going to do ok in a race and then they will be bred from and the pups advertised as their dam being full litter sister to wiz bang greyhound. I know this as I have received girls to rehome whose sister didn't quite do what was hoped for.

[trifecta]

Thank you for your contributions to the thread m-j, it's good to hear people's own experiences

[m-j]

Thank you for your contributions to the thread m-j, it's good to hear people's own experiences

Thanks, as I said earlier I really do feel that banning racing would not be beneficial to either the dogs or ethical owners and trainers. Some of these reforms I would like to see put in place have been said to me by both present and past trainers and owners, people like Mita's friend.

[Rebanne]

Owners and breeders should have to explain what happened to the pups that weren't registered as race dogs and they should be required to produce proof of what happened to them, same when the dog has finished racing . Only dogs and bitches that have officially run x time over x distance should allowed to be bred from.

I believe there are already rules in place to cover the disposal of dogs not wanted and also breeding restrictions.

Yes but they were pretty lax which is why the policing needs to be done, well that has been my experience with rescuing and rehoming dogs from the kennels. It did make it easy for me as I hate paperwork but any owners can just as easily dispose of their dog in other ways, no questions asked.

As far as I'm aware it is quite ok to mate two dogs together so long as they are registered. Many dogs that are registered haven't raced they may waiting see if some relative is going to do ok in a race and then they will be bred from and the pups advertised as their dam being full litter sister to wiz bang greyhound. I know this as I have received girls to rehome whose sister didn't quite do what was hoped for.

Yes you can breed any two greyhounds together, as sometimes some don't make it to the race track, but there are restrictions. they have to have a % of winners to have more then 2 litters I think it is. There are other restrictions but that's the one I remember. In Vic I am pretty sure they have to sign forms saying what they have done with the dogs, PTS, rehomed etc but yes most likely not followed up on.

[m-j]

Yes you can breed any two greyhounds together, as sometimes some don't make it to the race track, but there are restrictions. they have to have a % of winners to have more then 2 litters I think it is. There are other restrictions but that's the one I remember. In Vic I am pretty sure they have to sign forms saying what they have done with the dogs, PTS, rehomed etc but yes most likely not followed up on.

Hopefully any change/reforms that are made because of the 4 corners program will be followed up. If you are doing the right thing it shouldn't really be an issue. That's my very simplistic view of it anyway. I can remember my boss being really peeved that he built the kennels to the specs and they never got checked.

[labadore]

Mass killing of unwanted greyhounds set to be reinvestigated - Investigating claims of the mass shooting of unwanted greyhounds will be one of the first tasks of the NSW Special Commission of Inquiry into the industry, as a further eight dogs have been suspended over concerns they were exposed to live baiting

Full article and link below:

Mass killing of unwanted greyhounds set to be reinvestigated

Mass killing of unwanted greyhounds set to be reinvestigated

Date: March 8, 2015

Investigating claims of the mass shooting of unwanted greyhounds will be one of the first tasks of the NSW Special Commission of Inquiry into the industry, as a further eight dogs have been suspended over concerns they were exposed to live baiting

Former deputy police commissioner Dave Madden has been appointed to lead the investigation team, with a new hotline established to take tip-offs about integrity and animal welfare issues.

The interim chief executive of Greyhound Racing NSW, Paul Newson, told The Sun-Herald the commission of inquiry will scrutinise previous investigations including claims of a graveyard of dogs on a former greyhound trainer's property and that "quite a bit of investigative grunt" has been pulled together to ensure the effectiveness of the inquiries.

He said that all issues that have been raised are being taken seriously and there is "an appetite" to establish what has gone wrong.

He encouraged people to come forward with the assurance that any information or complaints about staff at the regulator Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) would be dealt with separately by the head of the RSPCA.

The Deputy Premier and Minister for Racing, Troy Grant announced the Special Commission of Inquiry last week after revelations about barbaric practices including live baiting and the shooting of dogs considered not fast enough to race.

Investigations by Fairfax Media during the past two years have revealed serious animal welfare issues including live baiting and the repeated claims of the mass killing of unwanted dogs. Last month, an expose by Animals Australia and Four Corners revealed trainers in three states were using live bait – possums, rabbits and pigs tied to lures and flung around trial tracks to entice dogs to race.

In NSW, 11 people have been suspended and 37 dogs have been suspended from racing amid concerns they have been exposed to live baiting.

Following the shocking revelations, Mr Grant forced the board and the chief executive of GRNSW to step down and he appointed Mr Newson to oversee the industry while an investigation was carried out by former High Court judge Michael McHugh.

The moves come as the Australian Senate passed a Greens supported motion that recognises that proposed activist gag laws would shut down the scrutiny of animal cruelty.

Greens animal welfare spokeswoman Senator Lee Rhiannon said "the motion highlights that if ag-gag laws were passed it would be impossible for cases of animal cruelty like the exposure of the many cases of abuse of greyhounds to occur."

The litigation director of Levitt Robinson, Chrystalla Georgiou, who has successfully secured the release of champion dog, Pop The Cork, after he was impounded by Racing Queensland following allegations of live baiting against his trainer, said the highly emotive aspects of the scandal need to be weighed up against the legal prinicples that people are innocent until proven guilty.

"A special commission will assist in not only determining the bad element in the industry but also determine who are the good owners and trainers in the industry who have done nothing wrong but who are going through a very hard time at present because many have been tarred with the one brush," she said.

Edited March 9, 2015 by labadore

[labadore]

Link to video on story on The Project on Monday night regarding lifelong sanctuary for greyhound victims - "Rehoming discarded greyhounds":

Rehoming discarded greyhounds

Below the video, Greyhounds Australasia responds to philanthropic initiative and has issued a statement which I have quoted in full below:

Greyhounds Australasia issued the following statement to The Project, suggesting they are open to Jan’s idea:

The greyhound racing industry remains disgusted and extremely disappointed with revelations that the illegal and immoral practice of live baiting was being used by some participants. The Four Corners investigation has shaken public confidence in greyhound racing and we can understand if the public think the practice of live baiting may be more widespread.

The controlling bodies in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland have moved swiftly to investigate the incidents shown by the program and to take action against those involved. Five trainers have already been found guilty and banned for life by Racing Queensland and inquiries continue in both NSW & Victoria. The industry is working hard to stop this practice altogether and supports any action or prosecution against those found to be participating in this appalling behaviour.

Before the revelations were made, Greyhounds Australasia (GA) publicly committed to reviewing all arm trial lure rules of greyhound racing. While the practice of live baiting has always been addressed by local racing rules, new national rules have been drafted which mandate the use of artificial or synthetic lures, at any place or time in the training, education or preparation to race of any greyhound. GA expects these strengthened national rules to be in place within one week of today’s date.

The industry accepts responsibility for retired and pre-raced greyhounds and recognises the need, and has the desire, to rehome all greyhounds that are bred into the industry. We realise that current adoption rates are too low and that we need to do more to achieve our vision of every greyhound whelped having both a racing career and a home to live out a full life after their racing careers end.

To be clear, the greyhound racing industry is united in its desire to reach the point where 100 per cent of greyhounds that are born to race end up racing, and that 100 per cent of those greyhounds find a home to live out the rest of their natural life.

The industry has been working hard for decades to reduce the number of greyhounds bred while maintaining a stable racing population. The industry has reduced breeding numbers by over 50 percent across the country since 1975 when over 36,000 greyhounds were whelped. Now, less than 18,000 are whelped a year.

New rules approved by the GA Board on 27 February 2015, which had been proposed for several months and which were put out for public comment last year, will increase the requirements for registration of a breeding female and limit the number of litters a breeding female can have to three without controlling body and veterinary approval. In 2008, Sire fees were increased to over $1000 to encourage considered breeding practices, compulsory retirement reporting has been introduced and mandatory micro-chipping to improve traceability was introduced nationally in 2011 to increase accountability of participants. Each initiative is designed to discourage poor breeding and reduce litter numbers.

Breeding incentive schemes, such as GOBIS in Victoria and Blue Paws in NSW, are designed to reward quality breeding with only those dogs that go on to race and win events earning bonuses. These schemes do not encourage the breeding of more greyhounds and any such suggestion reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the objective of the schemes. In fact, there has been an 11.4 per cent decrease in the number of litters bred nationally since the schemes were introduced in some states. In 2000, there were 3340 litters bred and in 2013 that number had dropped to 2814.

These incentives reward breeders for breeding in a particular state and racing the progeny in that same state with the intention that that portion of prize money remains in that state’s economy.

Controlling bodies play a significant role in breeder’s education and have programs in place to make sure that breeders have access to education and information to help them make responsible decisions. In Victoria, GRV also developed the Responsible Breeding Taskforce in 2006 to provide recommendations and guidance to the industry on how to address the issues relating to breeding in order to increase the quality of litters and to have as many greyhounds as possible race. Since 2004 there has been a 32 per cent reduction in the number of litters bred in Victoria while between 2008 and 2012, there has been a 12.5 per cent increase in the number of greyhounds named for racing.

In 2008, the Victorian Responsible Breeding Taskforce recommended a policy of monitoring new breeding females. Although it was never formalised into a rule, the Board recommended that GRV staff take a pro-active approach and contact the breeder when a new breeding female had had two litters in close succession asking that they postpone breeding their next litter until her first litter had reached an age where the ability of the pups already produced could be assessed and decisions regarding her likely success as a breeding female could be made. This has been monitored quarterly since 2009. The new national rule that limits a breeding female to a maximum of three litters before applying for approval for a fourth litter from a controlling body is effective from 1 July 2015.

GRV’s five year strategic plan states that in five year’s time;

“The euthanasia of young, healthy greyhounds has decreased by more than 40% and close to 50% of all retiring greyhounds are now being re-homed. The quality of litters bred in Victoria now sees more than 70% of pups born race.”

Nowhere does it state that GRV aims for any greyhound to be killed and to assert that the organisation would be comfortable with them being ‘killed’ is grossly unfair. GRV is working hard toward providing the best outcome for all greyhounds within the industry and have set realistic goals for the short to medium term while also working towards the national vision of all greyhounds born into this industry finding a home.

The greyhound racing industry contributes over $1 billion to the Australian economy and employs around 10,000 people. It is a professional industry, run by statutory authorities whose Boards are appointed by Racing Ministers and who take their animal welfare and integrity responsibilities seriously. Half a million people enjoyed attending a greyhound racing event last year and responsible wagering on greyhound racing is a pastime enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of Australians.

However, the industry does acknowledge that it has failed to keep pace with changing community expectations and hasn’t acted fast enough in some areas. In particular, we have been unable to reduce the number of greyhounds being euthanised at an acceptable rate. As an industry, we accepted responsibility for overcoming these challenges, in some cases many years ago, and are working toward winning back the trust of the community.

Jan Cameron’s offer of 250ha in Tasmania as a greyhound sanctuary is certainly a very generous offer, and Greyhounds Australasia, along with representatives from GRV, GRNSW and Racing Qld have committed to meet with Animal Australia to further discuss the offer in greater detail.

Ultimately, as an industry we recognise that we need to demand that owners take life-long responsibility for their dogs. We acknowledge that this may not have always been the case and that while GAP and private adoption groups and charities play an important role in re-homing retired racing greyhounds, the industry’s survival will ultimately rely on a life-long commitment to greyhound ownership from the breeders and owners themselves.

[dogbesotted]

i have a friend who works somewhere where unwanted greys some still adolescent brought in to be killed... it is not one or two or even a dozen at a time.. far worse. The more I think about it the more I want this industry abolished. where gambling is involved there will always be pressure to get that edge by legal or illegal means.

H

[mita]

I really do feel that banning racing would not be beneficial to either the dogs or ethical owners and trainers. Some of these reforms I would like to see put in place have been said to me by both present and past trainers and owners, people like Mita's friend.

M-j, our friend & neighbour admitted that his humane approach, where his greys' welfare came first, was because he could treat the racing as his hobby, not a business. His job was a senior public servant, so he had a good salary to support his interest .

He got pleasure when his greys ran well & they won prize money. Any bigger amount, he'd donate part to greyhound rehoming. It also meant that he'd happily take in, as a pet, a hopeless runner like Boofy, who'd been about to be shot as an economic liability. He loved Boofy (we all did).

But, in an industry where money counts hugely, thanks to gambling ... and to so much economically riding on the greyhounds' backs, he admitted he was not the majority.

I wish there were a way that greyhound racing could simply become a hobby dog sport ... not connected with an 'industry' & gambling.

[Rebanne]

bothers me a bit about wanting 100% rehomed. Not every dog, of any breed, is suitable to be rehomed.

[labadore]

i have a friend who works somewhere where unwanted greys some still adolescent brought in to be killed... it is not one or two or even a dozen at a time.. far worse. The more I think about it the more I want this industry abolished. where gambling is involved there will always be pressure to get that edge by legal or illegal means.

H

Completely agree with you. I am not even a greyhound owner, (I have Labs) but feel passionately disgusted about the awful things that happen to this beautiful breed in the name of greyhound racing Has there ever been a dog breed so exploited and treated so horrendously by man? . This poor breed has been subject for years to:

• Over breeding
  
• Killed en-masse by both illegal and legal means
  
• High injury rates
  
• Live in abject misery in sub par welfare conditions
  
• Bled for their blood before being euthanised by Vets
  
• Large numbers "donated" for veterinary teaching (see article in link below),
  
• Exported overseas mainly to Asia, where they suffer in horrific conditions - the articles and pics of greyhounds exported to Asia are truly distressing and because of this, I won't provide any links to these, but can be found easily enough if people do the relevant searches
  

Time for this industry and its "dark age" practices and participants to go!

Destruction of greyhounds distresses vet students

[Fastgals]

The entire Board of GRV has voluntarily resigned(posted in The Age at 11.51am). The Board will be replaced with a "three person team", whatever that means. I guess there will be more info shortly.

[labadore]

The entire Board of GRV has voluntarily resigned(posted in The Age at 11.51am). The Board will be replaced with a "three person team", whatever that means. I guess there will be more info shortly.

should have happened earlier, like in NSW, and the article below evens mentions "He also agreed that Victoria had “absolutely” fallen behind other states in responding to the crisis".

THE Greyhound Racing Victoria board has quit in the wake of a damning report

The Greyhound Racing Victoria board has quit in the wake of a damning report which showed they had failed to uncover horrific practice of live baiting.

The board handed its resignation this morning to Racing Minister Martin Pakula to give the sport a “fresh start”.

Ray Gunston, who was Essendon’s interim chief as the club dealt with the supplements scandal, will chair a new GRV board appointed by the Government.

Former Chief Commissioner Ken Lay and Industrial Relations Commissioner Judith Bornstein were also chosen to help clean up the sport.

It comes as the racing watchdog has found racing officials did not know dogs were being trained with live bait even though the cruel method was used throughout the sport.

Racing Integrity Commissioner Sal Perna said this morning that it would be “naive to accept” live baiting was not happening at locations beyond the troubled Tooradin track.

The track was closed and 15 people were suspended after ABC’s Four Corners broadcast secret footage last month of live rabbits and possums being chased and mauled by greyhounds.

Releasing his interim report on the scandal, Mr Perna said he did not have direct evidence of live baiting happening at tracks other than Tooradin.

But he said information received in the 17 days of his own motion inquiry revealed “the practice continues to occur as a clandestine method of educating, breaking in and training of greyhounds”

Mr Perna said there was no evidence Greyhound Racing Victoria knew live baiting was occurring and they “could not have been expected to know” because their inspection powers were not strong enough.

But their failure to uncover live baiting prompted Mr Perna to renew his call for an independent welfare and integrity watchdog for all Victoria's racing codes.

He also agreed that Victoria had “absolutely” fallen behind other states in responding to the crisis.

Mr Perna said “a very strong message” needed to be sent to those guilty of live baiting that “it’s just not on”.

“I am at a loss to understand the acceptance by some industry participants of the use of live animals in the training of greyhounds,” Mr Perna said.

In a series of recommendations delivered to Racing Minister Martin Pakula, Mr Perna called for:

INCREASED powers for Greyhound Racing Victoria's integrity and animal welfare staff.

A TRIAL of alternate measures of training greyhounds, particularly with artificial lures.

REQUIREMENTS for suspended trainers to get approval from stewards before transferring their dogs to other trainers.

FORMALISED agreements between GRV and animal welfare groups including the RSPCA for “immediate reporting of alleged and suspended animal cruelty”.

Racing Minister Martin Pakula will respond to Mr Perna's interim report later today

[dogbesotted]

and Tom Noble( the first trainer charged with cruelty) really sees nothing wrong with what he does..

h

http://www.qt.com.au/news/police-have-warned-greyhound-trainer-tom-noble-wou/2569933/