Greyhound Racing To Be Shut Down

[Lhok]

This industry cannot be trusted, they cannot or will not abide by the live baiting ban for one. The culture is too big.

Couldn't agree more juice. Sadly I think there will be more dog deaths before it stops - but that too is sadly inevitable. IF these people were genuinely good they would be re-homing instead of euthanising.

ABC 24 is reporting trainers who are already saying they are going to put their dogs down - as far as I'm concerned it just proves the government's point and that despite the pain the industry is going to go through there really is no other option.

I'd put my dogs down too before handing them over to places like the RSPCA.

Absolutely

Well being so ready to put your dogs down is the easy way out, no responsibility taken to find a solution. If the dogs' lives are so cheap then that just confirms the rightness of the decision. Disgusting attitude

I think it is in regards that they more then likely will be put down if the RSPCA NSW has anything to do with them. RSPCA NSW kills many dogs (not sure of figures but probably on par with the racing industry) due to their awful behavioural assessments. I myself have seen them put a 8 month old kelpie pup into a pen then put other pups on the other side of the four foot fence and when the pup jumped over it marked it as a fence jumper and could not be rehomed not to mention comments like "You can't trust Spitz breeds as they are close to wolves and will turn on you."

I think if it came down to my dogs going to the RSPCA I would rather be with them for their final moments than them in a cold concrete environment languishing in a pen until the fail their assessment and put down anyway.

--Lhok

[Lady Flying Furball]

This industry cannot be trusted, they cannot or will not abide by the live baiting ban for one. The culture is too big.

Couldn't agree more juice. Sadly I think there will be more dog deaths before it stops - but that too is sadly inevitable. IF these people were genuinely good they would be re-homing instead of euthanising.

ABC 24 is reporting trainers who are already saying they are going to put their dogs down - as far as I'm concerned it just proves the government's point and that despite the pain the industry is going to go through there really is no other option.

I'd put my dogs down too before handing them over to places like the RSPCA.

Absolutely

Well being so ready to put your dogs down is the easy way out, no responsibility taken to find a solution. If the dogs' lives are so cheap then that just confirms the rightness of the decision. Disgusting attitude

Dead is not suffering.

Dead is dead

[corvus]

I think it is in regards that they more then likely will be put down if the RSPCA NSW has anything to do with them. RSPCA NSW kills many dogs (not sure of figures but probably on par with the racing industry) due to their awful behavioural assessments. I myself have seen them put a 8 month old kelpie pup into a pen then put other pups on the other side of the four foot fence and when the pup jumped over it marked it as a fence jumper and could not be rehomed not to mention comments like "You can't trust Spitz breeds as they are close to wolves and will turn on you."

I think if it came down to my dogs going to the RSPCA I would rather be with them for their final moments than them in a cold concrete environment languishing in a pen until the fail their assessment and put down anyway.

--Lhok

RSPCA NSW has made dramatic changes in the last 12 months to their policies re: shelter dogs. They are now working with foster carers and rescues in an effort to rehome dogs that would in the past have been put to sleep. Their reluctance to do this earlier was based on distrust of rescues, which I honestly do not think is misplaced given some of the dogs I have seen that have come from rescues. Some rescues are untrustworthy. RSPCA was not sure which ones were and were not, and were worried about being indirectly responsible for dogs biting people. Last I spoke to them (late last year), they were very happy and relieved that things were working out with foster care and their kill rate had gone down by a lot.

As far as the greyhound racing industry in NSW goes, I am a little sad that the people within GRNSW that were attempting to turn the industry around and enforce new regulations are not going to be able to see their efforts to fruition. There are some very good people in that organisation that have been valiantly tackling a mountainous task. I thought they might just do it.

[Salukifan]

lots of dead dogs .......

Agreed Perse But it may also mean less future suffering by generations of greyhounds...

There won't BE any future generations of greyhounds.

[Salukifan]

As far as the greyhound racing industry in NSW goes, I am a little sad that the people within GRNSW that were attempting to turn the industry around and enforce new regulations are not going to be able to see their efforts to fruition. There are some very good people in that organisation that have been valiantly tackling a mountainous task. I thought they might just do it.

Agreeing with you again. They should have been given the chance to clean up the industry. If they couldn't, a ban was totally justified.

[Lhok]

Won't be any greyhounds allowed in NSW if this is the case

--Lhok

[Airedaler]

This industry cannot be trusted, they cannot or will not abide by the live baiting ban for one. The culture is too big.

Couldn't agree more juice. Sadly I think there will be more dog deaths before it stops - but that too is sadly inevitable. IF these people were genuinely good they would be re-homing instead of euthanising.

ABC 24 is reporting trainers who are already saying they are going to put their dogs down - as far as I'm concerned it just proves the government's point and that despite the pain the industry is going to go through there really is no other option.

I'd put my dogs down too before handing them over to places like the RSPCA.

Absolutely

Well being so ready to put your dogs down is the easy way out, no responsibility taken to find a solution. If the dogs' lives are so cheap then that just confirms the rightness of the decision. Disgusting attitude

I didn't say would not take the responsibility to find a solution but only that if the rspca was the solution then I would take that option.

The decision IMO is flawed and I believe the start of a concerted push by some to stop all pet ownership.

[Airedaler]

Won't be any greyhounds allowed in NSW if this is the case

--Lhok

So all those people who have greyhounds as pets will have to get rid of them or move out of NSW. As I said in an earlier post the ramifications of this decision are huge for all dog owners not just the greyhound industry.

[WoofnHoof]

The writing has been on the wall for a very long time, more than long enough to clean up the industry. It's no use saying "it's just the bad ones, don't tar us all with the same brush", it is no one else's job to clean up the industry, only those within the industry can and should do it, the "few bad eggs" should be stamped out and not tolerated or tiptoed around. All animal industries need to be proactive about animal welfare, reactivity does not work.

[PossumCorner]

... They should have been given the chance to clean up the industry. ....

They have had a hundred years to sort it and done nothing. The complaints aren't new. Time's up.

[PossumCorner]

.... I'd put my dogs down too before handing them over to places like the RSPCA.

I'm glad the previous owners of our three dogs from the RS didn't take that callous decision. The Bulla horses are likewise under RSPCA care at Horse Shepherd and elsewhere and many will have a good outcome. Why should the dogs have to be put down without a chance.

[Lady Flying Furball]

There won't BE any future generations of greyhounds.

This is my big concern/ worry, about how the Greyhound breed lives on now that the industry that breeds the bulk will close down?? I always had a Greyhound in my future

[juice]

So lets do nothing, or lets allow them to regulate themselves and pull their game up, oh yes, tried that, didn't work.

[corvus]

... They should have been given the chance to clean up the industry. ....

They have had a hundred years to sort it and done nothing. The complaints aren't new. Time's up.

No, look, that is not true. They have done plenty. After the recent scandals, they realised that if they didn't clean greyhound racing in NSW up, there would be no more greyhound racing in NSW. They took this very seriously, and like I said, there are some exceptional people within the organisation that have been working hard towards these ends. They have only been there for a short time, but they have already made big changes and I know for a fact they were getting a framework in place for even bigger changes, and sinking serious money into research to back it up. It may have been that in the end, everything they were doing would have resulted in an unsustainable industry, and my suspicion is this is why Baird has made the decision he has. Clearly there are other racing codes and animal welfare issues that are similarly unbearable that have been conveniently ignored. Unfortunately, it's an enormous job that those that went before in GRNSW created through a plethora of deplorable decisions and corruption, and the current team have not had time to do everything they have been working towards, but to say they have done nothing is simply not true.

At the end of the day, wastage is a huge problem in racing. It's cheaper to produce a lot of animals and pick out the best than it is to figure out how to breed the best. Until that is addressed, or there are incentives in place to keep animals racing for longer, wastage will continue to make racing a questionable practice.

[juice]

So how exactly did they plan to tackle live baiting on properties no one can see?

Or do you think taking their word for it, cus they are so trustworthy is enough :laugh:

Edited July 7, 2016 by juice

[WoofnHoof]

There won't BE any future generations of greyhounds.

This is my big concern/ worry, about how the Greyhound breed lives on now that the industry that breeds the bulk will close down?? I always had a Greyhound in my future

There will always be greyhounds. Same as as other breeds have survived long after their original jobs were consigned to history. Most huskies bred in this country never see snow or a sled or gig yet the breed exists and thrives. A good dog is a good dog, it doesn't need to be part of an industry entrenched in cruelty just to keep the breed going.

[westiemum]

Well saidi Woofy. Greyhounds will go from being disposable commodities to being pets, same as other breeds - and I'm in line already!

Edited July 7, 2016 by westiemum

[Taliecat]

Well saidi Woofy. Greyhounds will go from being disposable commodities to being pets, same as other breeds - and I'm in line already!

Mr Tc suggested this morning our next dog should be a greyhound, it's only taken three years for him to get on board with hounds..

I can't gather the right words together to express how worried I am for the breed in NSW, and am hoping for more clarification on pet greys.

[westiemum]

To me this is simple.

Like every industry there were good people and evil people in the greyhound racing industry. Unfortunately for decades, within the evil group there were those who were actively evil and those who were complicit (passively evil). The evil group is much bigger than the industry would ever admit.

The writing has now been on the wall for this industry for years - and its taken a legally constituted Commission of Inquiry in NSW who could force witnesses to testify to finally get to the bottom of it - and some people within the industry to finally act - but too late. The question then becomes why did it take a former High Court Judge's inquiry into the industry for 'good' people to act? They have had years/decades to 'self-regulate' and clean up their act - and failed.To paraphrase juice 'it's over'.

The NSW government has been clear. The industry is unsustainable - fact. An orderly shut-down is far better for the racing greyhound population than an industry collapse. They urge people to read the report and then question whether or not there was any other decision which could have been made. Apparently it is horrific reading. (And yes I'm going to read it in full over the next week or so ).

It's time as an evolved society we stopped using animals for gambling and entertainment (and yes horse racing should be next). As Lyn White said, gambling and animals is a potent mix which produces nothing but misery and abuse (or words to that effect).

Its time it stopped. Well done Mike Baird. Suggest people jump on line, thank him and urge him to stand firm. The industry pressure to reverse the decision will be significant.

[Pjrt]

Even if the industry was squeaky clean and perfect, at the end of the day it is still engaging animals with no choice in an activity purely for the monetary gain and entertainment of humans, and for me personally, it doesn't matter how well packaged that is, its fundamentally wrong in this day and age FULL STOP. I hope it is the start of a domino effect to see this industry halted. Yes people will be upset, lose money, lose a lot of other stuff but the sun will still rise and set on a world without exploiting animals for greed and entertainment and that makes me happy.