New South Wales's Greyhounds Face Grim Future as Rehoming Overseas Continues Despite Warning of 'Distressing and Fatal' Outcomes.
A year-long inquiry, led by Lea Drake, has scathing findings on the greyhound racing industry in New South Wales. A concerning trend of retired hounds being sent abroad for rehoming remains despite alarming reports of "distressing and sometimes fatal" outcomes.
The inquiry's report reveals six greyhounds have died during transport or preparation to travel to the United States, sparking concerns over the welfare of exported dogs. While three of the deceased were found dead in their crates upon arrival due to stress or heat exposure during long-haul flights, one dog was euthanized at Sydney airport after being found with a spine fracture following an escape from a transport van.
Critics are calling for swift action to address these distressing issues. Lea Drake's report calls for the practice of rehoming greyhounds overseas to be ended due to a lack of meaningful oversight and its associated risks, which can sometimes prove fatal.
The NSW government has rejected a recommendation to suspend the sport if Greyhound Racing NSW fails to determine new race track standards by the year's end. Instead, they will require heightened oversight and a focus on domestic rehoming programs "where possible".
However, many have expressed disappointment with this response, labeling it as insufficient given the urgent need to end greyhound racing altogether. Emma Hurst, an Animal Justice party MP, describes the government's stance as falling short of the necessary steps required.
On the other hand, Steve Griffin, CEO of Greyhound Racing NSW, defends his organization's approach, suggesting that the reported incidents represent a small proportion of rehomed animals and downplaying their significance.
The report also highlights issues with greyhound births, which remain largely unregulated, and kennelling periods, where dogs may spend extended periods in cramped conditions. Furthermore, it criticizes Greyhound Racing NSW for poor personnel management and high expenditure, as well as its failure to meet minimum track standards.
As the debate surrounding the future of greyhound racing continues, concerns persist over animal welfare and public safety. With Tasmania having recently banned the sport, and Victoria opting not to do so following a cost assessment, some argue that it is time for New South Wales to take decisive action.
A year-long inquiry, led by Lea Drake, has scathing findings on the greyhound racing industry in New South Wales. A concerning trend of retired hounds being sent abroad for rehoming remains despite alarming reports of "distressing and sometimes fatal" outcomes.
The inquiry's report reveals six greyhounds have died during transport or preparation to travel to the United States, sparking concerns over the welfare of exported dogs. While three of the deceased were found dead in their crates upon arrival due to stress or heat exposure during long-haul flights, one dog was euthanized at Sydney airport after being found with a spine fracture following an escape from a transport van.
Critics are calling for swift action to address these distressing issues. Lea Drake's report calls for the practice of rehoming greyhounds overseas to be ended due to a lack of meaningful oversight and its associated risks, which can sometimes prove fatal.
The NSW government has rejected a recommendation to suspend the sport if Greyhound Racing NSW fails to determine new race track standards by the year's end. Instead, they will require heightened oversight and a focus on domestic rehoming programs "where possible".
However, many have expressed disappointment with this response, labeling it as insufficient given the urgent need to end greyhound racing altogether. Emma Hurst, an Animal Justice party MP, describes the government's stance as falling short of the necessary steps required.
On the other hand, Steve Griffin, CEO of Greyhound Racing NSW, defends his organization's approach, suggesting that the reported incidents represent a small proportion of rehomed animals and downplaying their significance.
The report also highlights issues with greyhound births, which remain largely unregulated, and kennelling periods, where dogs may spend extended periods in cramped conditions. Furthermore, it criticizes Greyhound Racing NSW for poor personnel management and high expenditure, as well as its failure to meet minimum track standards.
As the debate surrounding the future of greyhound racing continues, concerns persist over animal welfare and public safety. With Tasmania having recently banned the sport, and Victoria opting not to do so following a cost assessment, some argue that it is time for New South Wales to take decisive action.
I'm really disappointed in NSW's response to this whole thing... It seems like they're just patching things up instead of actually addressing the issues. 
Rehoming greyhounds overseas without proper oversight is already a huge red flag, and now they want us to just accept that? 
Not to mention the other concerns like unregulated breeding and kennelling conditions... it's not like these problems are going away on their own. 
I think Tasmania's ban on greyhound racing was a step in the right direction, and we should be looking at doing something similar here. 
. I mean, six of them have died during transport alone - that's just heartbreaking. And the ones that get sent abroad are basically just going to end up in some foreign country being used for their racing lives or worse. It's just not right. I don't think it's good enough to just stop rehoming overseas and expect everything to be okay 
. We need to look at the whole industry and see where we can make changes to ensure these dogs are treated with respect and care 
. And what's with all this talk about the government not taking swift enough action? I think they're just trying to sidestep the issue 
. This is a case of animal welfare, plain and simple 
! First, they're gonna start rehoming those greyhounds overseas, and next thing you know, dogs are getting shipped off and dying... like, what's the real story here? Is it just an accident, or is there something more sinister going on? And don't even get me started on these kennelling periods – those poor animals must be going crazy in those cramped conditions! 
It's like they're setting up for some kind of tragedy. And what about all those unregulated births? Are we just gonna ignore that too? I'm convinced there's a big scheme at play here... 
. And it's all because people want to own them as pets, but they're not prepared to care for them properly.
. Just suspending the sport if Greyhound Racing NSW can't improve their act isn't enough 
they're literally being sent abroad without proper care & it's costing lives! the NSW government is all like "oh yeah let's just increase oversight" but come on that's not enough! we need to end this industry altogether! 
the stats are crazy - 6 greyhounds have died during transport... 3 in crates because of heat exposure... one was even euthanized after escaping from a van because of poor handling