Right: The welfare of ex-racing greyhounds is of concern in other countries as well as Australia. This poster is from Pups Without Partners, an American organisation trying to find new owners for elderly or failed racers.
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Arguments supporting the banning of greyhound racing in Australia
1. There is an unacceptable level of wastage in the greyhound industry
Opponents of greyhound racing note that the industry has a severe problem with an oversupply of dogs which are then euthanased. Inez Hamilton-Smith from Gone are the Dogs explains, 'Greyhounds are seen as commodities and their value relies on their ability to run fast... It is perfectly legal to breed large numbers of greyhounds, in order to try and to get a fast one and then dispose of the rest.'
In an editorial published in the Sydney Morning Herald on October 10, 2015, it was stated, 'Most greyhounds bred specifically for racing are destroyed as healthy pups. It is legal to kill up to 100 dogs at a time in NSW, providing it is done "humanely".'
The animal welfare group, Animals Australia, has stated, 'Every year in Australia, around 20,000 greyhound pups are bred in the hope of finding a quick runner. But not every dog is suited to racing. And like a lottery ticket that has failed to pay out, most dogs who don't make the grade are discarded.'
Animals Australia has given a figure for the number of dogs which are disposed of because they are either not fast enough or are surplus to requirements. The lobby group states, 'An estimated 18,000 healthy dogs are killed in the greyhound industry each year - 8,000 pups and young dogs never even make it to the track, and another 10,000 dogs who are "retired" from racing - simply because they are too slow to win.'
It has been claimed that economic pressures to secure winning dogs and the ease of breeding greyhounds means there will always be an oversupply that will simply be killed.
The Sydney Morning Herald editorial explains, 'The average litter size is 6.5 puppies with the gestation period of bitches just 63 days. For horses it is one foal at a time with a gestation of at least 330 days. So there is a relative incentive to kill many more race-bred dogs than horses. It is much cheaper to maintain a dog until it has been trialled, too. As such the greyhound business model encourages the killing of slow dogs because it's cheap enough to breed more in the hope of striking a winner.'
Animals Australia has further noted, 'Whilst a greyhound's natural lifespan would be 12 to 14 years, very few of these dogs will live to that age. The vast majority will be killed once they have served their (racing) purpose.
Nine out of 10 dogs born into the greyhound industry never get to live out a full life.'
Veterinary nurse Victoria Luxton-Bain has stated, 'When you're euthanasing these dogs, they're not old dogs, they're completely healthy, and most of them are still standing there wagging their tails and licking your face while you're actually euthanasing them.'
Animals Australia claims that even those animals that are not immediately put down when their racing lives are over are unlikely to live out their full lifespan. The lobby group notes, 'Some ex-racers go into breeding programs, but even they will then likely be killed at age 5-6 years. Other, perfectly healthy dogs are given to university veterinary faculties where they may be killed for use in teaching and training.'
2. Many dogs are treated cruelly
It is claimed that many greyhounds are treated cruelly and further that the sport is so stressful for animals that even those owners and trainers who treat their animals well cannot protect them from unacceptable hazards. Critics claim that the practical and economic necessities of the industry mean that dogs will inevitably be mistreated.
Lisa White, President of Friends of the Hound, a group committed to re-homing dogs, has stated, 'Unfortunately the economic viability of this commercial racing industry requires that profits be valued above the welfare of the dogs.'
The animal welfare group, Animals Australia, has stated, 'The greyhounds who do make it to the track are put at significant risk of sustaining serious injuries, such as broken hocks or legs, or head trauma, during training and racing. Up to 200 dogs are reported injured during official races each week. Some even die from cardiac arrest due to the extreme physical intensity of racing.'
It has further been noted that greyhounds frequently have miserable lives when not actually racing. Animals Australia has noted, 'Off the track their lives may not be much better - oftentimes being kept in tiny barren pens or kennels for the majority of their lives, only released to train or race. Racing greyhounds are not commonly kept as companion animals.'
In August, 2015, Independent member for Sydney, Alex Greenwich stated, 'Greyhound racing relies on animal cruelty...There have been exposs of trainers administering performance enhancement drugs to dogs, including cocaine, caffeine and anabolic steroids. Racing dogs do not live a happy life when they are not racing; they are not companion animals and are often housed in deplorable conditions in tiny barren pens or kennels, released only to train or race. There are reports that they are underfed to maintain a low racing weight.'
There have also been allegations of even worse instances of animal abuse inflicted on greyhounds in order to enhance their performance on the track or to dispose of them when these measures proved ineffective. Queensland has conducted an inquiry into its greyhound racing industry, the report from which was released on June 1, 2015. Reporting on the release of the report, The Courier Mail noted allegations that 'dogs [have been] shot, hanged or electrocuted because they can't run fast enough.'
3. The use of live baiting is widespread
It has further been claimed that not only are many greyhounds cruelly treated, other animals are abused because they are used as live bait during greyhound training sessions in order to have the dogs run faster.
The Four Corners report televised in February 2015 revealed that seventy interstate greyhound trainers, including some leading identities, were implicated in this training method, in which live animals are tied to mechanical lures and the dogs encouraged to chase and kill them.
During an Special Commission of Inquiry conducted in June 2015 into greyhound racing in New South Wales, two very well-known New South Wales trainers - Wayne Smith and Adam Wallace - testified that they regularly used live- baiting to blood their greyhounds at three properties in Western Sydney. Both also claimed such practices were used by 90 per cent of trainers.
Wayne Smith, who has trained greyhounds for 30 years admitted he had baited his greyhound puppies as young as three months old with live rabbits in his own backyard. He also acknowledged that he knew, when he dropped his dogs off at Bruce Carr's Londonderry property, they would be participating in live baiting. He further admitted that he knew how to string up a rabbit around its waist and dangle it the perfect distance from a hunting greyhound.
Mr Smith claimed that he felt compelled to use living baiting because everyone else in the industry was doing so. He stated, 'I'm doing it because everyone else is doing it.'
A greyhound trainer, operating out of Wollongong, has stated, '...it has been the norm for as long as I can remember, blooding the dogs, you've got to blood the dogs.'
4. The regulatory system governing the industry has failed
It has been claimed that the widespread reports of cruelty and live-baiting within the greyhound industry in Australia demonstrate that the self-regulation of the industry has not been effective.
It has been claimed that in a commercially-driven industry self-regulation is bound to fail. In a submission put to the Tasmanian Government on June 10, 2015, the Friends of the Hound Greyhound Adoption Group stated, 'In an organisation dependent on commercial gain and profitable outcomes, regulatory functions are compromised due to a conflict of interest with commercial performance... The Greyhound racing industry should not have been permitted to self-govern and should not have had the responsibility of regulatory control.'
The Friends of the Hound further stated, 'There has been an obvious lack of transparency or disclosure in recording and supplying accurate data about the animals that are the core product of this industry.'
This problem appears to be Australia-wide as, even after the public furore that greeted the evidence of live baiting and animal cruelty shown in the Four Corners program, Greyhound Racing South Australia (GRSA) has refused to release its figures on the annual number of greyhounds euthanased in that state. On December 4, 2015, a GRSA spokesperson stated, 'GRSA will not publicly disclose the information...as it distracts from the broader dialogue and commitment to programs to support re-homing...'
South Australia's RSPCA chief executive officer, Tim Vasudeva, responded by stating '[I]t should not be optional for the greyhound industry to decide whether the community is informed or uninformed about the welfare of greyhounds bred and used for racing.'
It has been claimed that not only has the regulatory system governing greyhound racing in Australia been inefficient, it has sometimes actively colluded in covering up abuses.
Internal emails, obtained by the ABC under Freedom of Information laws, revealed then-Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) chief executive Brent Hogan was strategising with staffers several days before the February 2015 Four Corners program revealing abuse in the industry was due to air. Mr Hogan's aim appeared to be how to minimise the scandal and retain the favour of the New South Wales Government.
It has also been alleged that some staffers of Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) informed greyhound owners or trainers of impending inspections by the RSPCA so they would not be caught performing abusive acts.
One staffer stated, 'Problem was that last time we [GRNSW and RSPCA] had a joint raid of a trial track, the Intel was good. Only problem [was] our participants were tipped off. Trust is a two-way street.'
5. Greyhound racing is losing popularity and the industry is struggling
The future of greyhound racing in Australia is uncertain. Before the Four Corners' revelations and the abuse discovered through state investigations, greyhound racing already sat at the bottom of the top ten spectator sports in Australia.
It is anticipated that increased public knowledge of the animal abuse common within the industry will only lead to a further decline in patronage.
After the televising of the Four Corners' report, city and country greyhound clubs around the nation were immediately contacted by sponsors indicating they would not continue existing arrangements.
As an indication of the waning popularity of greyhound racing and popular opposition to it a new greyhound track proposed for the low socio-economic region of Logan, south of Brisbane, is facing increasing opposition from local residents. Janet Scott has organised a petition, and more than 13,000 residents have signed in protest against the move.
Ms Scott has stated, 'There's so much more that can be done, rather than just to exploit animals and people for gambling.'
Local businessman Graeme Palmer has stated, 'I don't want my grandkids to be seeing this, I don't want to tell my grandkids what that is. I want to drive past here and see something wholesome here.'
Australian Christian Lobby director Wendy Francis has stated, 'Cronulla Park should not be developed as a greyhound racing track, and there's honestly at least three good reasons. The first reason is we've become more and more aware over the past twelve months, while we've waited, of the animal cruelty in this sport; also southeast Queensland do not need another gambling facility, we're already putting in a huge complex now in Brisbane, and the third reason is that the Logan people simply don't want it.'