Banned! It's the end of greyhound racing.

Winston's surprise move

What a day! On 10 December 2024, The Minister for Racing announced that "Stopping greyhound racing was "the right thing to do".

He noted the “... action wasn’t taken lightly, but independent reviews in 2013, 2017 and 2021 provided clear evidence of serious animal welfare concerns. While improvements were made, those gains plateaued and injury/death rates remained unacceptably high to the point the sport had lost its social licence. Action had to be taken”

We teamed up with “Emily Writes” to cut through online rhetoric against the greyhound racing ban. Drawing on experience from being on Greyhound Racing NZ's Animal Welfare Committee, veterinary expertise, and Government-commissioned greyhound reports, our collab with Emily - Time to kill… this time the industry, not the dogs - unpacked the real welfare record behind the spin: race-day injuries, euthanasia rates, and the industry's history of unmet recommendations.

Read "Time to kill".

Download • 318KB

In the end, dogs continued to suffer and improvements made were not enough. This decision is a win for the dogs: this time, in Parliament, not at the track.

---

How we got here

"Time to Kill" sets out the background to the ban, and notes that the "...myth that the industry's closure is sudden is easily debunked. Over the last decade, three reports on greyhound racing have found major concerns, and the last put the nail in the coffin. The reports showed a consistent failure to take meaningful action to address welfare issues and keep dogs safe."

The 2013 WHK review was followed by the 2017 Hansen Review, which found many WHK recommendations had not been met. Recommendations to improve the welfare of greyhounds were again made. The quarterly progress reports to the various Ministers and the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee abruptly stopped in May 2020, citing completion of the Hansen recommendations.

The Robertson review followed, and again highlighted non-compliance with prior (Hansen) recommendations and lack of improvement. The industry was put on notice, meaning its wind-up now is no surprise."

MPs lament greyhound ban but still vote for it

There have been multiple exposés along the way, including use of methamphetamine and other doping substances. VAWA offered comment in 2022 following enquiry by NewsHub's Michael Morrah in to injuries in dogs being rehomed.

"We need more information, but certainly from the numbers coming through, the injuries seen, there absolutely needs to be further scrutiny of what's going on here."

The biggest concern was the marks seen on some of the dogs, which look like pressure sores.

"That speaks to a much more chronic, long-term husbandry issue where these animals are lying on hard surfaces for long periods of time that are causing those pressure sores. We should be concerned about that - that's not acceptable."

Read Michael's story here

Blog first published: 05/25/2022