Source: SAFE For Animals
Animal rights organisation SAFE is renewing calls for the Government to ban greyhound racing after yet another greyhound has lost their life due to horrific injuries sustained on the track.
The greyhound, How’s the Luck, suffered a broken back and dislocated neck after a fall at the Christchurch tracks on Friday. Following the fall, she was transported to a veterinary clinic where she was euthanised.
SAFE Campaigns Manager Anna de Roo said it is another example of the racing industry’s continued failure to protect dogs.
“The race reports are extraordinarily painful reading for anyone who cares about dogs. We urge the Racing Minister to ban greyhound racing and ensure How’s the Luck is the last greyhound to be broken by the racing industry.”
The distressing incident comes shortly after the release of a damning Petitions Select Committee report of the industry which highlighted “serious concerns” with everything from greyhound methamphetamine exposure to a disturbing upwards trend in serious injuries.
The report, which was presented to the House of Representatives earlier this month, questioned whether the greyhound racing industry retained the social licence required to continue to operate.
“It’s like a grisly Groundhog Day. Less than a month ago the horror weekend on Auckland’s tracks occurred. This Friday and Sunday there were 13 injuries inflicted on greyhounds over just two days, including two broken bones and one subsequent death,” said de Roo.
“It’s got to stop.”
The Racing Minister, Kieran McAnulty, will be considering the fate of the industry after receiving the Racing Integrity Board’s report on greyhound racing this month.
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- A poll by Cammora Research ltd. and commissioned by the SPCA found 74% of New Zealanders would vote to ban greyhound racing in a referendum.
- A 2021 petition demanding a ban on greyhound racing accrued over 37,000 signatures.
- Following a review of the greyhound racing industry, Grant Robertson, the previous Racing Minister, stated there are three fundamental issues that still need to be addressed; data recording, transparency of all activities, and animal welfare generally. He tasked the Racing Integrity board to identify a specific set of indicators over each of these areas that will be used to assess the industry’s progress, reporting back to the Minister before the end of 2022.
- In August 2021, Labour MP Priyanca Radhakrishnan accepted The Greyhound Protection League of New Zealand’s 37,700 signature-strong petition, calling for a ban on greyhound racing in New Zealand. SAFE had been supporting the petition since November 2020.
- Photos of dogs rescued by the Greyhound Protection League. https://www.flickr.com/photos/136647212@N08/albums/72157716823620507
- Greyhound racing is legal in only seven countries. A ban in the Australian Capital Territory came into force in April 2018, followed by a ban in Florida, USA, in November 2018. Since Florida is home to 11 of the USA’s 17 active dog tracks, this is a signal that greyhound racing will soon become a thing of the past in the United States.
- Information about greyhound racing in Aotearoa. https://safe.org.nz/take-action/stop-greyhound-racing/
