Inquiry into NSW Greyhound Industry Reveals Further Cruelty

The revelations come out of a Special Commission of Inquiry into the New South Wales greyhound racing industry which commenced this week.

It is another black mark on a practice already rife with animal cruelty.

Greyhounds are put at risk of serious injuries both on the racetrack and during training. Injuries are common and often treatment is not ‘profitable’ for trainers. When not racing or training, the animals are kept in small, barren cages. Dogs being drugged with cocaine, steroids and other drugs to enhance their performance is not unheard of. Other animals including rabbits, piglets and possums are put through torture in the common practice of live baiting.

World Animal Protection opposes the unjustified suffering of animals in greyhound racing. Animals should not be made to endure cruelty for the sake of entertainment.

Counsel assisting the Inquiry Stephen Rushton SC said that he will likely recommend that the industry be shut down and the inquiry's commissioner, former High Court judge Michael McHugh, QC, who is overseeing the Inquiry has also stated that he would consider shutting down the industry.

We welcome this Inquiry with hopes that greyhound racing will end in Australia.

The Inquiry has so far revealed that:

• Up to 96% of greyhounds in the industry do not survive their first year
• Deliberate overbreeding results in 13,000 – 17,000 greyhounds destroyed each year purely because they are not fast enough
• Stephen Rushton SC said that Australia is one of only eight countries in the world with a commercial greyhound industry
• Trainers have stated that up to nine out of ten greyhound trainers use live bait in training their animals