Right: playing politics: the NSW Labor Party leader, Luke Foley, has been quoted as saying he supports an industry "clean-up", rather than a ban. Meantime, the national Greyhound Breeders, Owners and Trainers Association announced that it had "a large enough war chest" to bring down the Baird government.
 Found a word you're not familiar with? Double-click that word to bring up a dictionary reference to it. The dictionary page includes an audio sound file with which to actually hear the word said. |
Arguments against banning greyhound racing in New South Wales
1. The extent of abuses within the greyhound industry has been exaggerated
Supporters of the greyhound racing industry being able to continue in New South Wales argue that the number of trainers involved in the abuse of animals is very small.
In a comment published in The Advocate on July 12, 2016, Shane Yates stated, 'The New South Wales government has pulled the trigger and shot down an industry full of greyhound and animal lovers, on the back of deplorable actions of a small few.'
Yates continued, 'Comments made about these exaggerated imaginary death numbers...is nothing more than scaremongering, designed to whip up support from fair-minded people who unwittingly are being used in a campaign to end the allegedly "barbaric" sport of greyhound racing.'
Defenders of the sport claim that the majority of animals are very well looked after. Shane Yates states, 'They are fed the very best quality food, walked every day, regularly exercised, and enjoy comfortable, safe and secure kennelling and have regular visits to the vet...Yet, same old story, some people want to focus on the bad apple in the orchard and crucify everyone involved in a tremendous industry. An industry of down to earth, everyday people, looking after their greyhounds in every way possible and in many cases better than themselves.'
Owner and trainer John Buttsworth has disputed the Commission's findings. Buttsworth stated, 'I've been in greyhounds for 50 years. I just can't believe the figure they've stated, they've just misquoted, unbelievable. It's horrendous to say we've slaughtered so many dogs.
I've never seen live baiting, I've never done live baiting.'
Similar comments were made by New South Wales trainer, Trevor Thompson, who argued that it was unfair to judge the whole industry on the actions of a few.
Mr Thompson stated, 'It's like every industry, there's a few bad apples in there.
Most of the people....they are our pets and that's what a lot of people don't get ... for 98 per cent of the people, especially in this area, they are pets, they're family.'
A comment by Bruce Teague, published by Australian Racing Greyhound on March 11, 2016, argued that the McHugh Special Commission of Inquiry into the Greyhound Racing Industry in New South Wales prejudged the industry and based its conclusions on a narrow evidence base.
Teague claims that the New South Wales Special Commission's counsel, Stephen Rushton QC, 'immediately cast aspersions on the entire industry - extrapolating from a narrow base of examples.'
Teague than accuses Ruston of using 'faulty data to claim that "many in the community, many in animal welfare organisations, and many in government are deeply concerned that the industry is breeding too many greyhounds and that too many young healthy greyhounds are being destroyed". All that is no more than hearsay, innuendo and exaggeration. And who is "many"?'
Teague notes, 'In practice, the evidence of excessive breeding is marginal at best and subject to correction. Today, the constant shortage of starters in races in all states tells us that more dogs are needed.'
Teague argues that it is wrong to ban an entire industry because of the misbehaviour of a minority. He asks, 'Should we ban motoring because some drivers get drunk and crash their cars? Should we ban football or tennis because some players take drugs?'
The Special Commission found the practice of 'live-baiting' was used by 20 per cent of trainers. Defenders of the industry claim that banning greyhound racing is unjustly punishing the 80 per cent of owners and trainers who do not use live baiting.
2. GRNSW has made substantial improvements in its management practices
Defenders of greyhound racing in New South Wales claim that the government's decision to ban the industry was taken too hastily and without recognition of the improvements the industry has made to its practices.
Brenton Scott of the New South Wales Greyhound Breeders, Owners and Trainers Association has stated, 'First of all, it was a kneejerk reaction. No industry consultation at all. The information's based on a report. Much of the information in that report is old and flawed. The decision takes into account no consideration of the progress the industry's made in the past 18 months. We're an industry that has changed, is changing and is ready to embrace whatever change is needed to have a respectable role in the future.'
Scott went on to claim that the ban decision was taken less than a year and a half after the industry had begun making widespread improvements. He stated, 'It comes 15 months after there was a line in the sand where the industry clearly became aware of the issues that had to be dealt with. Those issues have been confronted openly, with the strongest possible regulatory, supervisory and animal welfare standards [put] in place...'
Scott has further claimed that the decision taken after the report of the McHugh Commission is based on outdated information. He has stated, 'I think the industry has approached the problems, the issues, as they've become known, in an effective manner.
The problem we're dealing with is a number of positions that have been taken as a result of the report are simply fabricated. For instance, it is now law almost that 20 per cent of participants are involved in live baiting. The last 290 investigations of GRNSW into suggestions of that have - two cases have been found. Two out of 290. That's a long way short of 20 per cent. The industry's moved on from that. The industry at grassroots level has committed that animal cruelty has no place.'
3. A ban would deny employment to those who work in the industry and have a negative economic impact on the state
It has been claimed that the Baird government's decision to shut down the $335 million greyhound racing industry in New South Wales will potentially cost several thousand jobs and millions of dollars in annual ðwagering tax revenue.
The industry is said to employs thousands people in New South Wales, with a further 5000 breeders, dog owners and others to be indirectly impacted by the demise of the sport, which will see the closure of 30 clubs.
Estimates vary as to how many people are involved in greyhound racing in New South Wales. A State Government-commissioned report found that greyhound racing contributed more than 2,700 full-time jobs to the New South Wales economy.
A report commissioned by Greyhounds New South Wales estimated there were 1,561 full-time jobs in greyhound racing, with about two-thirds of these jobs directly related to the industry.
The two reports show that between 36 per cent and 64 per cent of the full-time jobs in greyhound racing are in regional areas outside Sydney.
However, many more people participate in the industry not classified as having full or part-time jobs, who are working as trainers, breeders, owners and volunteers. The New South Wales report puts the number of people participating in greyhound racing at more than 15,000, of which more than 13,000 are involved in producing racing dogs. Nearly three-quarters of these participants are in regional areas.
In a comment published on July 7, 2016, Business Insider Australia stated, 'NSW is giving up an industry generating a range of economic benefits and jobs in banning greyhound racing, according to the government's own documents.'
The industry is claimed to be worth $335.7 million annually to the New South Wales economy in direct and flow-on benefits, according to estimates for the 2013-14 year.
During that racing season, 1,296 greyhound race meetings attracted more than 282,000 people, says a study commissioned by the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing on the size and scope of the racing industry in New South Wales. Racegoers generated expenditure of more than $11.2 million, both on-course and in the community. Use of the greyhound club facilities for non-race day purposes generated another $3.3 million of spending.
The largest regions, in terms of customer spending are the Hunter ($3.7 million), Illawarra/South Coast ($2.4 million) and Northern Rivers ($1.6 million) regions.
4. A ban would deny enjoyment to the many patrons of greyhound racing, especially in working class communities
It has been claimed that greyhound racing is a socially significant activity in many areas of New South Wales, especially within working class and rural communities.
Katrina Hodgkinson, one of four Nationals MP opposing their government's decision, has stated, 'This strikes at the very heart of the working man...
You can be as poor as a church mouse - and most country guys are - and you can still afford your own dog or become a partner in a syndicate.'
Hodgkinson further noted, 'It's a social network, the one activity to go to the local track on race night and catch up with people. It's such a harmless activity but so important for a lot of guys who wouldn't otherwise get a lot of socialising done. It keeps them sane.'
Commentator Miranda Devine, in an opinion piece published in The Daily Telegraph, stated, 'It's hard to fathom the arrogance of squeamish city dwellers killing off a quintessentially Australian pastime they don't understand.
The decision is driven by the sensibilities of [those] who loathe the culture that greyhounds represent - of male battlers in regional Australia hanging onto their dignity, whose main social interaction is a night at the doggies.'
A similar point was made by Greg Sheridan in an opinion piece published in The Australian on July 23, 2016. Sheridan argues that the decision to ban greyhound racing in New South Wales was taken by a social group that does not recognise its importance to racing fans.
Sheridan stated, 'The thought of the dogs, the races, gambling, reminds me just how vastly different are the worlds of people who make decisions like abolishing greyhound racing and the worlds of the people who actually go to the races. Horseracing has its aristocratic side and gets to all classes but the dogs were a purely working-class preoccupation.'
5. A ban would result in the deaths of very many of the dogs that are currently raced in New South Wales
It has been claimed that banning greyhound racing in New South Wales will only result in the immediate death of more dogs.
In a comment published in The Huffington Post on July 7, 2016, Emily Brooks stated 'There are more than 6,809 registered greyhounds that will either be euthanised or adopted when greyhound racing reaches a legal halt in New South Wales on July 1, 2017.'
In a statement put out by the New South Wales government, it has been explained that the options for the dogs will include: humane euthanasia; remaining in their current home; rehomed through an adoption program; or being transferred interstate or overseas to jurisdictions that have appropriate animal welfare standards.
Many greyhounds will be eligible to be fostered or adopted by Australians but RSPCA NSW CEO, Steven Coleman, has stated that a 'fair proportion' of the dogs will have to be euthanised.
Mr Coleman has claimed, 'Some dogs will never be able to be retrained or rehomed. These dogs by nature have a fairly significant prey drive and it takes significant work to re-hinge their minds to not chase.
It's not impossible but it will take work. It takes kennelling capacity and human work to detect and address this behaviour and then retrain.'
The issue is twofold. Not only do the dogs have to be retrained so that they can safely be placed in family homes, there have to be sufficient people willing and able to take the large number of dogs that will need rehoming.
On July 10, 2016, The Daily Telegraph published a comment by Miranda Devine, in which she stated, 'Retired dogs re-housed by the industry through Greyhounds as Pets can't find enough homes as it is.
We'll have a repeat of the slaughter in London when dog carting was abolished in the 1840s. In the first year the bloated bodies of 150,000 dogs choked the Thames River.'
Devine concludes, 'The upshot will be a sea of dead dogs, and devastated humans.'