Greyhound Racing To Be Shut Down

[SkySoaringMagpie]

Sheesh, surely other breeds of fast sighthounds exist happily without regular top-speed work. Normal daily walking and some off-lead when possible. "Somewhere to slip it up a couple of times a week" - I even hope some of the jargon will disappear along with the gambling and with the ill treatment of dogs.

Lure coursing isn't a top option: ask any vet within cooee of a lure coursing venue and they will tell you why they dislike it. Too many tight turns, falls, joint injuries. Not a fitness issue at all, just the nature of the turning. (Straight runs less damaging).

Put up the evidence please. Which vets and which venues. ANKC LC is not being run in Victoria yet, so I will be interested to hear who else is running it. If you can't put up the evidence you need to edit your post and apologise.

[~Anne~]

Well if the NSW Government is really interested in animal welfare I hope they target the piggers next, there are more of them around here than greyhound trainers and they advertise their deeds on Facebook so shouldn't be hard to track down.

ETA Good post m-j!

I'm not so sure their focus is animal welfare. It's come about as a result of multiple things.

To my knowledge, the Greens, circumstance, public outcry and the review lead to the postion we are at today. The Greens lodged a Bill in parliament 2 years back calling for a ban. The story that aired nationally on live baiting stirred a public outcry and a review was called into the industry.

There's probably been other things too, but these are the few I'm aware of.

Edited July 9, 2016 by ~Anne~

[Sheridan]

Sheesh, surely other breeds of fast sighthounds exist happily without regular top-speed work. Normal daily walking and some off-lead when possible. "Somewhere to slip it up a couple of times a week" - I even hope some of the jargon will disappear along with the gambling and with the ill treatment of dogs.

Lure coursing isn't a top option: ask any vet within cooee of a lure coursing venue and they will tell you why they dislike it. Too many tight turns, falls, joint injuries. Not a fitness issue at all, just the nature of the turning. (Straight runs less damaging).

Really? Which vets and venues in Victoria would those be?

Have you ever actually attended an event or are you plucking this stuff out of thin air?

I thought lure coursing was done at KCC Park?

[kdf]

I find it hard to pick a side. I know a few people in the industry, good people who I know care for their dogs. One who kept their racing dog in the house even when they were told that the dog would do no good on the track (they proved them wrong on that :) ). And some that are heavily involved in greyhound adoption as well.

I've been offered dogs at the track and told if I didn't take them right then that they would not be making it back to their kennel that night. This was before I adopted my first grey and I went home devastated and feeling like I had killed that dog myself.

I also have my boy Stevie at home. I was lucky enough to adopt him and he's been with me nearly 11 years. One week shy of his second birthday he was shot, they had obviously aimed for the back of his head and instead just hit his spine.

This is his X-ray from last year with the fragments still in his neck (they're scattered throughout his face as well). Eleven years and it still makes me furious that somebody could do that to my gorgeous boy. And it obviously still happens, we saw that in Queensland.

I love the breed, I love fostering, I've even enjoyed some time at the track over the years. But the sheer numbers of dogs bred and the number that get PTS is huge! We don't have a local track anymore but do have some local trainers still and seeing even the occasional young healthy dog making it's way to the vet for euth is heart breaking for me. How anyone that says they love the breed can accept the euth rates for greyhounds right now in this country is beyond me.

I don't know that complete shutdown is the right thing but something definitely needs to change.

[Salukifan]

Sheesh, surely other breeds of fast sighthounds exist happily without regular top-speed work. Normal daily walking and some off-lead when possible. "Somewhere to slip it up a couple of times a week" - I even hope some of the jargon will disappear along with the gambling and with the ill treatment of dogs.

Lure coursing isn't a top option: ask any vet within cooee of a lure coursing venue and they will tell you why they dislike it. Too many tight turns, falls, joint injuries. Not a fitness issue at all, just the nature of the turning. (Straight runs less damaging).

Really? Which vets and venues in Victoria would those be?

Have you ever actually attended an event or are you plucking this stuff out of thin air?

I thought lure coursing was done at KCC Park?

They chase a lure on a very small, under regulation course. Im pretty sure there are no tight turns. There hasn't been an ANKC LC trial in the State yet.

Edited July 9, 2016 by Haredown Whippets

[Salukifan]

I love the breed, I love fostering, I've even enjoyed some time at the track over the years. But the sheer numbers of dogs bred and the number that get PTS is huge! We don't have a local track anymore but do have some local trainers still and seeing even the occasional young healthy dog making it's way to the vet for euth is heart breaking for me. How anyone that says they love the breed can accept the euth rates for greyhounds right now in this country is beyond me.

I don't know that complete shutdown is the right thing but something definitely needs to change.

I haven't seen that statement of acceptance made by anyone. Things have to change. Things were changing. All I hope is that the opportunity to see if the changes are successful is given.

[kdf]

I love the breed, I love fostering, I've even enjoyed some time at the track over the years. But the sheer numbers of dogs bred and the number that get PTS is huge! We don't have a local track anymore but do have some local trainers still and seeing even the occasional young healthy dog making it's way to the vet for euth is heart breaking for me. How anyone that says they love the breed can accept the euth rates for greyhounds right now in this country is beyond me.

I don't know that complete shutdown is the right thing but something definitely needs to change.

I haven't seen that statement of acceptance made by anyone. Things have to change. Things were changing. All I hope is that the opportunity to see if the changes are successful is given.

Hence why I didn't quote anyone here. But the numbers have been staggering for a long long time.

[Salukifan]

I love the breed, I love fostering, I've even enjoyed some time at the track over the years. But the sheer numbers of dogs bred and the number that get PTS is huge! We don't have a local track anymore but do have some local trainers still and seeing even the occasional young healthy dog making it's way to the vet for euth is heart breaking for me. How anyone that says they love the breed can accept the euth rates for greyhounds right now in this country is beyond me.

I don't know that complete shutdown is the right thing but something definitely needs to change.

I haven't seen that statement of acceptance made by anyone. Things have to change. Things were changing. All I hope is that the opportunity to see if the changes are successful is given.

Hence why I didn't quote anyone here. But the numbers have been staggering for a long long time.

The numbers are also rubbery.

[Sheridan]

Sheesh, surely other breeds of fast sighthounds exist happily without regular top-speed work. Normal daily walking and some off-lead when possible. "Somewhere to slip it up a couple of times a week" - I even hope some of the jargon will disappear along with the gambling and with the ill treatment of dogs.

Lure coursing isn't a top option: ask any vet within cooee of a lure coursing venue and they will tell you why they dislike it. Too many tight turns, falls, joint injuries. Not a fitness issue at all, just the nature of the turning. (Straight runs less damaging).

Really? Which vets and venues in Victoria would those be?

Have you ever actually attended an event or are you plucking this stuff out of thin air?

I thought lure coursing was done at KCC Park?

They chase a lure on a very small, under regulation course. Im pretty sure there are no tight turns. There hasn't been an ANKC LC trial in the State yet.

No, it's completely straight.

[kdf]

I love the breed, I love fostering, I've even enjoyed some time at the track over the years. But the sheer numbers of dogs bred and the number that get PTS is huge! We don't have a local track anymore but do have some local trainers still and seeing even the occasional young healthy dog making it's way to the vet for euth is heart breaking for me. How anyone that says they love the breed can accept the euth rates for greyhounds right now in this country is beyond me.

I don't know that complete shutdown is the right thing but something definitely needs to change.

I haven't seen that statement of acceptance made by anyone. Things have to change. Things were changing. All I hope is that the opportunity to see if the changes are successful is given.

Hence why I didn't quote anyone here. But the numbers have been staggering for a long long time.

The numbers are also rubbery.

The numbers are ridiculous. I know adoption has been improving every year since I adopted my first in 2003. And I got my pets straight from their trainer so I know the "official" adoption numbers do not reflect every adopted dog in the country. But the number that find homes after racing is only a portion of the dogs bred each year.

[Steph M]

Thousands of dogs will die as a result of this ban.

Many tens of thousands of dogs would die if not for this ban.

Neither option is easy but the choice is clear for me.

If this ban were not being implemented with a drop dead date 12 months from now, that choice wouldn't have to be made.

I have to admit this is how i feel too, a longer timeframe to allow consultation with rescues, allocation of resources, people, fosters or plans for holding dogs.

I feel like a flat 12 months is a short time & as much as everyone is convinced trainers/owners are scum, come 12 months they're stuffed and so are their families.

[JulesP]

Sheesh, surely other breeds of fast sighthounds exist happily without regular top-speed work. Normal daily walking and some off-lead when possible. "Somewhere to slip it up a couple of times a week" - I even hope some of the jargon will disappear along with the gambling and with the ill treatment of dogs.

Lure coursing isn't a top option: ask any vet within cooee of a lure coursing venue and they will tell you why they dislike it. Too many tight turns, falls, joint injuries. Not a fitness issue at all, just the nature of the turning. (Straight runs less damaging).

Really? Which vets and venues in Victoria would those be?

Have you ever actually attended an event or are you plucking this stuff out of thin air?

I thought lure coursing was done at KCC Park?

They chase a lure on a very small, under regulation course. Im pretty sure there are no tight turns. There hasn't been an ANKC LC trial in the State yet.

No, it's completely straight.

I watched a breed club running a course at KCC park. It wasn't straight. None of the dogs looked in any danger of hurting themselves though. I seem to remember some Borzoi running that looked amazing.

[~Anne~]

A copy and paste from Mike Baird's FB page:

The decision to ban greyhound racing has obviously generated a lot of discussion and questions. And I’ve been listening. I’ve read many of the 10,000+ Facebook comments and other coverage in the media and I’d like to take a minute to respond to some of the questions. I particularly want to address some of the myths around this decision.

So, here are the top 10 things that just aren’t true about the shut down of greyhound racing on 1 July next year. This has been a tough decision, but a considered one.

1. You are punishing many for the crimes of a few.

Unfortunately, the report of the Special Commission is very clear that these practices were systemic - for too long, too many people who knew what was going on didn’t do enough to reform greyhound racing. It is also very clear that the industry has had many chances to reform but has failed to do so. In fact, intentional deception and illegal activity was rife. However, as I said in my original Facebook post, I feel very strong empathy for those who are caught up in this who have not done anything wrong. They should feel deep anger towards others in their industry who have brought us to this place. These changes will have a big impact on some communities. This brings me no joy whatsoever. We are preparing a considered transition package to be announced in coming months after further consultation with the industry because we want to help as many as we can as we shut down this industry in an orderly way.

2. This is a land grab for developers. Wentworth Park is going to be sold off.

No, it’s not. Let me state this as clearly as possible: we will not be developing any tracks on Crown Land into residential or high rise. Something to clarify here: the government owns about half of the tracks, but not all of them. We don’t have any say over who the privately owned tracks get sold to. But, for the government owned sites - including Wentworth Park - I can’t be any clearer. They will be used for community space. We will consult with the community about what this looks like, but it may include open space or sports facilities or even things like schools if appropriate. This will be decided in consultation with the relevant communities.

3. All these greyhounds are now going to die. These changes are actually worse for them.

There is absolutely a huge challenge here. We are working very closely with the RSPCA and their partners to re-home as many dogs as possible and our strong preference is for dogs to remain with their current owners or be adopted into homes. One of the reasons we have given till July next year for the industry to close is so we can work out the best possible way to care for as many as dogs as possible. But experts have advised us it won’t be possible to re-house all of them and many may be put down. To avoid that, I’m open to any approach to save as many dogs as we can. But the report is very clear - tens of thousands of dogs are being systematically killed, often in inhumane ways, simply for not being fast enough. This would continue, and thousands of dogs each and every year would continue to die if we had not made this decision. Whatever loss of life regrettably comes as a result of the shutdown is a small fraction of what would happen if the industry continued.

4. This is a hastily made decision and there has been no consultation.

The opposite is true. When the Four Corners story on this emerged over a year ago, our response was not to make immediate decisions. It was to undertake a very detailed inquiry, overseen by a former High Court Judge. That inquiry has taken over a year and had the powers of a Royal Commission. It received 2000 submissions and held private and public hearings. It has been in-depth. It has been comprehensive. There was nothing hasty about it, or this decision. If you read the report for yourself, you will see that the Government had little choice but to take this course of action.

5. The Government is hypocritical and will still take money from people in NSW gambling on dog racing in other states.

As you can imagine, the licence agreements with the TAB and the racing industry are quite complex and we need to do some work to figure out how we unwind some of these agreements. But let me be clear: we don’t want to, and won’t, be profiting from poor animal welfare practices. We don’t want to curtail your right to punt. But we also don’t want the government to profit from practices like the ones we have seen outlined in this review. We will have more to say on the specifics of this in the coming months.

6. This Government just wants to ban everything.

I’m a big advocate of small government that keeps out of your way. But that doesn’t mean government stands back and allows cruelty to animals on a widespread scale. I understand why some people feel like they are being over-governed when we introduce more laws - particularly if it is a law you don’t like. Creating extra restrictions brings me no joy. But neither does the death of thousands of dogs a year. My instinct on this, before the Inquiry’s report was handed down, was that we would find a way to reform this industry. But then I read the report. I didn’t need to read it twice. We are intervening here because we have to.

7. The industry was already reforming and on its way to a better future.

Although there had been some progress made, the Inquiry found that the industry has had many years to reform and failed to do so. In fact, even after the Four Corners investigation and with the full knowledge that we had ordered an inquiry, the report found trainers were STILL using live baiting and flouting the rules. It saddens me that there are many in the industry who wanted to do the right thing and have been let down by others. But the idea that the industry just needed better regulation and another chance was not borne out in the Inquiry. If you doubt this, please read the report for yourself.

8. A total shut-down is an over-reaction. You should have just given more oversight.

The Special Commission suggested that, if Parliament were to attempt more regulation, 79 different recommendations would need to be taken into account. But it said that, even then, it was highly doubtful the industry was capable of reform. The culture of deception and mistreatment of dogs just ran too deep. Better regulation had been attempted, and failed, many times over. The Commission also found that the reforms required would have made the entire industry economically unsustainable. The sad reality is, further regulation simply isn’t a viable option.

9. If you really cared about puppies you’d shut down puppy farms.

We recently announced our response to a review into puppy farms and other issues relating to domestic pet breeding and sales. It’s a very complicated issue that we remain determined to get much better results with. We continue to work closely with the RSPCA and other stakeholders to try and get better outcomes here. As a dog owner, I share everyones concern about puppy welfare and our government remains committed to big improvements in this area.

10. The review said this should go to Parliament. Why isn’t it?

It is. The Government will present legislation to shut down greyhound racing during the next sitting period and Parliament will indeed consider and debate our proposal. At that point, all MPs can have their say. If they want to oppose this change, they can explain their reasons for that to the community at that time. We expect the legislation to pass because we believe anyone who reads this report will see there is no workable alternative option.

Finally… Thanks to everyone for your feedback and questions. Please let me urge you to go and read the review. It is horrific. It is damning. And it leaves the Government with no real choice but to take the action we have. You can read the report here: http://www.greyhoundracinginquiry.justice.nsw.gov.au

Thanks for reading.

Mike

[m-j]

If nothing else comes of this hopefully it will galvanise the other racing bodies and or the politicians in other states into getting their act together to do the right thing so they don't have the same fate or public backlash.

Edited July 9, 2016 by m-j

[westiemum]

Thanks Anne. Suspected as much... now back to ploughing through the report.

[Steve]

So even though its been announced as a done deal it still has to get through parliament - bet there are a lot of MP'S who are being challenged by their constituents especially in rural areas

Reminds me of Clover Moore's bill - she was pretty confident too about it getting through

Its nowhere near a done deal yet

I reckon that after watching this that everyone who has a breed that has a brachy head should consider the same could happen to the legality of breeding them because almost the same arguments can be used if they want to and its definitely on the agenda.

[Lhok]

So even though its been announced as a done deal it still has to get through parliament - bet there are a lot of MP'S who are being challenged by their constituents especially in rural areas

Reminds me of Clover Moore's bill - she was pretty confident too about it getting through

Its nowhere near a done deal yet

I reckon that after watching this that everyone who has a breed that has a brachy head should consider the same could happen to the legality of breeding them because almost the same arguments can be used if they want to and its definitely on the agenda.

If you scroll through various comments on social media there are calls for the breeding of dogs to be banned due to the amount of dogs being killed in shelters.

--Lhok

[~Anne~]

So even though its been announced as a done deal it still has to get through parliament - bet there are a lot of MP'S who are being challenged by their constituents especially in rural areas

Reminds me of Clover Moore's bill - she was pretty confident too about it getting through

Its nowhere near a done deal yet

I reckon that after watching this that everyone who has a breed that has a brachy head should consider the same could happen to the legality of breeding them because almost the same arguments can be used if they want to and its definitely on the agenda.

I normally agree with you but I don't in this case re brachy or any other BSL issue being linked to this decision.

The ban here is for greyhound racing, not breeding. The racing of dogs and breeding of dogs are different issues.

As for it being on 'the' agenda? Whose agenda is that exactly?

I do agree that the Bill may not get through, however. I'd says it's got good odds for passing but who knows.

[Sheridan]

So even though its been announced as a done deal it still has to get through parliament - bet there are a lot of MP'S who are being challenged by their constituents especially in rural areas

Reminds me of Clover Moore's bill - she was pretty confident too about it getting through

Its nowhere near a done deal yet

I reckon that after watching this that everyone who has a breed that has a brachy head should consider the same could happen to the legality of breeding them because almost the same arguments can be used if they want to and its definitely on the agenda.

If you scroll through various comments on social media there are calls for the breeding of dogs to be banned due to the amount of dogs being killed in shelters.

--Lhok

There will be a big push for this.

[Dame Aussie]

If APBT did not go extinct after the banning of dog fighting (and are in fact still a very popular pet and working dog), then the Greyhound is not going to go extinct at the banning of racing.

Thank you.

Also, I agree with Gruf and Woof.

They've said it better than could so nothing to add there, except that I would love to have a grey one day and know lots of people who already have them and would like to continue having them. I don't think they will become extinct and I also don't assume every person who might want to continue breeding them as pets is a scumbag BYB who doesn't care about health or temperament.