by Annie Hendley, QLD State Director, Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds
printed in the letters page of the Ipswich Tribune of 1 March 2023
The QLD Racing Minister Grace Grace might be happy to wave around a shovel to launch a planned greyhound mega-racetrack near Ipswich. But there’s nothing to celebrate for most Queenslanders or the dogs who will die at this track.
With so many people struggling under cost-of-living pressure, it’s immoral for the Palaszczuk Government to give almost $40m to the greyhound racing industry to build the complex. This is an industry that produces very little of value and survives mainly because of government subsidies and gambling money.
$1.6bn was wagered on Queensland greyhound racing in the last financial year with enormous profits made by online gambling companies. The Queensland government recently announced that 80% of tax revenue earned from online betting will be given to the racing industry. This is millions of dollars in public money that should be used to fund education or improve wages for nurses or build more public housing.
And this funding is not linked to performance, revenue earned or even animal welfare considerations.
On average, nationwide, three greyhounds are killed racing on tracks every week, with 28 injured every day.
Two young Queensland dogs have been killed racing this month, at Townsville and Ipswich, both euthanased with broken bones. One was able to run across the finish line.
Too often euthanasia is seen as the easy option for dogs who are considered superfluous to the needs of the racing industry.
Queensland only started reporting greyhound welfare data in FY 2018/19. Since that time, more than 1,500 dogs have died from all causes. Around 30% of those dogs were euthanased by their owner due to “injury”. Over 250 dogs were euthanased because their owners considered them “unsuitable to rehome” and more than 40 were euthanased because they were “unsuitable to race”. And this is an industry that says they “love their dogs”
No racetrack is safe. All the new, multi-million dollar tracks around Australia, supposedly “safe”, have continued to kill and injure greyhounds on a regular basis.
Away from the racetracks, the story is just as grim.
The racing industry breeds six times more greyhounds than it has the capacity to rehome. Even with millions in government and gambling-generated funding, Racing Queensland depends on community rescue groups to home the majority of greyhounds. Hundreds of other dogs end up in labs and universities, with no tracking of their fates.
The industry uses discredited modelling from paid consultants to exaggerate the economic benefits of greyhound racing, and the government parrots the worthless data.
Yet people can see through all the spin. A recent national survey showed that 69% of Australians don’t want their money used to support the greyhound racing industry.
This track should go the way of the planned Logan track which was scrapped in 2017. There was significant resistance from locals who forecast an increase in the area’s problem gambling and continued cruelty to racing greyhounds.
In July 2022, a petition with 73,000 signatures was presented to Premier Palaszczuk. It stated that Australians do not want the Ipswich racing complex to proceed and that the $39m should be used for areas of public and community interest.
Minister Grace realises the community is against greyhound racing and doesn’t want new tracks built.
No journalists were invited to the event to see her wield a shovel. No questions were asked of a minister giving away $39m to a dog-killing industry, rather than investing in education, housing, health, or other essential services.
Greyhound racing is rotten to the core. The Minister must put the welfare of people and dogs before the greed of the gambling industry.