Australia’s greyhound racing industry battles new claims of abuse

In 2015 Australia’s multi-billion-dollar greyhound racing business vowed it would clear up its act.

A scathing investigation at the time had discovered the preventable deaths of up to 17, 000 young dogs annually. These revelations were so surprising that the government of the time rushed to put in place an finally temporary ban.

About a decade after, Greyhound Racing New South Wales ( GRNSW)- the centre of the game in the country- is back in the limelight for alleged misuse, due to the work of one whistleblower.

In an explosive record made public by lawmakers, the organisation’s former captain dermatologist has described the economy as a hub of “exploitation and suffering”, claiming that dogs are being raced at “barbaric” rates, euthanised without cause, or left to rot in metal cages when they can no longer thrive.

Executive faces are rolling, and an investigation, which GRNSW says it “welcomes”, has been announced to check the charges, as calls from critics to include greyhound racing outlawed increase louder.

But despite evidence of slipping public support, the state’s premier has said he wo n’t shut down the sport, prompting a standoff with those calling for that to happen.

The beagle driving economy cannot exist without widespread animal abuse, according to NSW Animal Justice MP Emma Hurst.

” It will be shut down – it’s just a matter of when”.

With about 60 tracks in procedure, Australia has been hailed as the world’s largest industrial greyhound racing country. New Zealand, the US, the UK and Ireland are also home to businesses, but nothing operate at the same speed.

Thanks to online betting, Australia’s industry has seen rising profits in recent years, turning over A$ 8.3 bn ($ 5.6bn, £4.3bn ) in 2023- with 75 % of the money coming from Victoria and New South Wales ( NSW), according to the greyhound protection organisation GREY2K.

A “handover” text from GRNSW’s Chief Veterinary Officer Alex Brittan to his coming alternative was the fire that caused the current outcry over the club’s techniques. By his own admission, he had almost broken him.

The 54-page file contains a plethora of allegations, including those that GRNSW had worked with “unaccepting of modern treatments” vets who were known to cause dogs to be put to death and that company leadership was directing staff to handle animal welfare organizations” as the enemy.”

The CEO of GRNSW, Rob Macaulay, had resigned just hours after Mr. Brittan’s email was made public, and the rest of the bank’s board is then battling for their success.

GRNSW has been swift to support Mr. Brittan’s claims as the state’s entertainment and sporting secretary, David Harris, made the announcement that an inquiry into the industry’s regulator would be led by the company’s regulator.

In a speech, its operating Director, Wayne Billett, stated,” We welcome the opportunity for an external assessment of our operations and record.” GRNSW’s spokesperson also stated to the BBC that the organization takes concerns about animal welfare “very significantly.”

But Mr Brittan’s profile varies.

He wrote in his letter that he had seen “extreme distress” cases where competing dogs had “recent pools of blood” surrounding them after” clawing” at their caged doors while” clawing” at their cages.

He also criticized the “preventable” on-track incidents that resulted from terriers crashing into beams with” no padding on them,” as well as the figures GRNSW had suggested regarding the number of retired dogs that had found homes, a practice that gives the sport its social standing.

Mr Brittan says that of the almost 4, 200 puppies entering the market each year, just 1, 600 were making it out and finding users, with the remainder living out their times in “industrial kennels”.

He also claimed that there was a troubling lack of oversight in a company program that had been set up to export retired greyhounds to the US so that they could find homes there.

He used Carey as an example of a dog who died at Sydney Airport after he confused its traveling box with a racer’s starter box and crashed into a fence at full speed when the door opened.

NSW’s premier Chris Minns stated that he would review all of the allegations made by Mr. Brittan, but quickly rejected a state-wide ban on greyhound racing.

” We’re not going to shut down the industry, but we do take this report seriously”, he told reporters last week.

After the new investigation was complete, Mr. Harris reiterated that the government would ensure the industry was held to” the highest standards of animal welfare and integrity.”

However, given that GRNSW has endured a number of crises, including a government-backed investigation in 2016 that found evidence of” systemic animal cruelty” and mass killings, supporters are skeptical that a subsequent inquiry will produce any results.

Eight years ago, the greyhound racing industry had a chance to clean up its act, and it has utterly failed, Ms Hurst told the BBC.

Mr. Brittan has also questioned the impartiality of the current investigation, arguing that it should be conducted by an outsider as opposed to the industry’s own regulator.

And he questioned why a complete ban had already been removed from the table.

According to the Guardian, the premier and gaming minister have stated that the outcome of the inquiry is a foregone conclusion and that, regardless of any findings, all bets are on and the gambling will continue.

Around the world, the prominence and popularity of dog-racing for sport has been in decline.

For instance, in the US, which was once one of the sport’s largest industries, betting on greyhounds has been outlawed in all but a few states, and only two active tracks are still active, both in West Virginia.

Advocates like Ms Hurst contend that gambling profits are what keeps going in Australia rather than community fanfare.

Over 80 % of respondents to the nation’s national broadcaster’s poll said they wanted the industry to be shut down as of the last time it was in the spotlight in 2016.

Additionally, it has been outlawed in the Australian Capital Territory in recent years, and petitions for the passage of time have reached several state legislatures.

GRNSW says it has no plans to go anywhere- and that racing, which first came to the nation’s shores in the late 1800s, can be done” sustainably”.

But Ms Hurst, and others calling for an end to the sport, say that the latest spate of allegations present a unique “opportunity” to “listen to the community and ban this cruel industry”.