THE greyhound racing industry in Australia is reeling, after New South Wales premier Mike Baird announced the systematic shut down of the sport in the state.
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NSW Racing Minister Troy Grant said it was a “bloody very bad day” but the government could not allow the mass slaughter of greyhounds to continue.
One local former breeder, who “got out” following last year’s expose of endemic live-baiting practices, said the ban would affect thousands of jobs and “thousands and thousands” of dogs.
Ms Ven Dange said there was a risk the greyhound industry would move to Canberra in late 2017 to continue racing and this would be unacceptable.
Steve Coleman, the CEO of RSPCA NSW, welcomed the ban on greyhound racing in NSW, saying: “This day is historic”.
The greyhound industry directly employs more than 1000 people, including tracks at Dapto, Bulli and Nowra.
Up to 20% of trainers engaged in live baiting and 180 greyhounds sustained “catastrophic injuries” during races, such as skull fractures and broken backs that resulted in their immediate deaths, the report found.
Mr McHugh also found that the practice of “live baiting” where a greyhound is encouraged to kill a live animal such as a rabbit as part of its training, is widespread.
“Over the coming months, we will consult with the industry to help minimise the pain as best we can for the innocent industry participants as we work towards an orderly industry shutdown”, Mr Baird said.
“This is the inevitable conclusion to be drawn from the appalling revelations in Mr McHugh’s report and his considered view that any other measures are unlikely to protect animals from further cruelty”.
The Department of Justice say that greyhound racing facilities will be used for “open public space, alternative sporting facilities or other community use”.
The story NSW bans greyhound racing first appeared on The Land. “I’d like to see them shut down horse racing, it’s just staggering that a state government has that much power”.
“But what our investigations also did was lift the lid on other cruelties inherent to this industry, including the killing of thousands of healthy dogs every year simply because they don’t run fast enough”.
Greyhound racing is only legal in eight countries around the world. There’s a welfare issue here now that needs to be addressed, we have to somehow transition all those greyhounds. And, of course, having a punt on the dogs over a few beers is good fun for many people.
But Ms Ven Dange, who has been lobbying for the ban for several years, said the ACT government “had no choice but to copy the ban”.
“Instead, it recommended a stronger integrity regime to ensure animal welfare is front and centre across all three racing codes”, Ms Grace said.
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“But we simply can not and will not stand by and allow the widespread systemic mistreatment of animals”, he said.
