Yesterday at Addington raceway, the greyhound Gary collided with other dogs and tumbled shortly after reaching the lure, having just crossed the finish line. He was trampled by four other dogs, which caused a catastrophic injury to his right front leg. The dog could be seen limping after the fall and was later euthanised at the track.
SAFE spokesperson Will Appelbe said deaths and injuries like this are unavoidable with greyhound racing.
“It’s disgraceful that dogs have to endure this kind of treatment for the benefit of the racing industry,” said Appelbe
“The race footage shows several dogs jostling for the lure, which led to the dog’s fall and subsequent injuries. It’s just another example of how greyhound racing is inherently dangerous, which is well documented by two independent reviews of the industry.”
So far, in this racing season alone there have been 7 deaths and over 600 injuries. In 2017, the Hanson report stated that greyhound racing is inherently dangerous, which was repeated in the most recent Robertson review, published in 2021.
Racing Minister Grant Robertson has since given the greyhound racing industry until the end of 2022 to make improvements to transparency, data recording and animal welfare, or risk closure.
“No amount of fluffy PR from Greyhound Racing New Zealand can change the fact that they are putting dogs at risk every day.”
“Until the Government implements a total ban on greyhound racing, these dogs will continue to suffer.”
I had a school holidays job many many years ago in a greyhound/whippet training kennels in the UK and yes the dogs are well fed etc…but are consumable items despite the fluffy rhetoric about ‘retirement’ stop winning you stop breathing, yes it’s that simple.