by Sue Osborne, Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds
In response to numerous exposes about animal cruelty and illegal activities in the greyhound racing industry, successive governments have commissioned inquiries. However, these expensive taxpayer-funded reports have resulted in little real change.
Governments often use these inquiries as a shield to hide behind until public sentiment has moved on. What really matters is what governments do with the findings of these inquiries.
If they do nothing (and they frequently do), a lot of time and money has been wasted, and it’s business as usual for the racing industry.
In NSW, the latest round of criticism by former Chief Vet of Greyhound Racing NSW Alex Brittan, has sparked yet another inquiry. He alleged widespread abuse, reporting and oversight failures in the racing industry last year.
The Drake Inquiry into Greyhound Racing NSW is due to report to the NSW Minister for Gaming and Racing David Harris on 30 April 2025.
The Drake inquiry will examine:
The welfare and care of greyhounds by Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW)
GRNSW’s processes and management
Accuracy and reporting by GRNSW in relation to greyhounds and whether that reporting represents the true state of the greyhound racing industry
Performance and effectiveness of GRNSW’s functions under the Act and the GRNSW Operating Licence
GRNSW management’s response to compliance or concerns regarding organisational and workplace culture
Any other relevant matters that arise during the inquiry
However, it should be noted one of the terms of the inquiry is to “ensure a viable and sustainable greyhound racing industry in NSW”.
Despite this term of reference, the Hon Lea Drake will undoubtedly produce a comprehensive and insightful report. However, whether the NSW government can stand up to the racing industry, which always pushes back on any kind of reform, remains to be seen.
NSW government backflip
In 2015, the NSW government announced it would ban greyhound racing. They funded the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Greyhound Racing Industry in NSW by Justice Michael McHugh.
Justice McHugh found in the 12 years up to 2016, up to 70,000 young greyhounds had been killed by the industry. Overbreeding was a scourge, and the industry’s rehoming program was a failure, with community groups carrying most of the burden of dog rehoming.
Justice McHugh and his team did an incredible job with their three-volume report, but the government backed down on its promise to ban racing due to political pressure. It also failed to implement the key recommendations of McHugh’s report, which were to limit breeding and introduce birth-to-death tracking – see more information here.
Despite McHugh’s report, community rescue groups continue to do the lion’s share of greyhound rehoming on shoestring budgets a decade later. Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds (CPG) annual research shows weak or non-existent laws leave retired racing greyhounds vulnerable to an uncertain future.
Key demands for the future
One wonders what more the Drake report can add to Justice McHugh’s findings, and if it will be enough to elicit action from the government, when key findings by the McHugh inquiry weren’t implemented.
CPG has several demands that it hopes will be met following the Drake report. For instance, greyhound track safety is the responsibility of Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW). This should be transferred to the independent Greyhound Welfare and Integrity Commission (GWIC). Dogs are killed and injured on the track all the time. Information about which tracks meet safety standards and which don’t should be made public. Wentworth Park in Sydney, which is supposed to be a showcase track, is the site of frequent deaths and injuries. See more information here.
CPG volunteers currently do the difficult work of monitoring numbers of deaths and injuries on racing tracks. Following the Drake report, it should become the responsibility of GWIC to report these figures and take action if there are too many accidents on one track. Considering the NSW taxpayer funds track upgrades to the tune of $30 million a year in capital grants, reporting about track safety should be mandatory.
GRNSW has shown itself to be incapable of managing anything involving animal welfare, so this responsibility should go to GWIC, as well as pay the NSW Government for the costs involved, not leave it to the taxpayer to fund the regulator.
GWIC should report publicly on all matters concerning greyhound welfare, in particular the outcomes for greyhounds shipped to the USA or adopted by essential services personnel like police, here and overseas, for rehoming.
Just about every state and territory (apart the ACT where racing is banned) is in the process of carrying out an inquiry into greyhound racing or has done so in recent years. See list here.
Almost every greyhound industry inquiry ever held in Australia has recommended breeding caps, but state governments have failed to act and consequently there is a greyhound rehoming crisis across Australia.
You only have to spend five minutes on Gumtree to see numerous greyhounds being offered for free adoption, without the proper checks and balances in place.
CPG hopes the Drake report brings concrete changes that result in better outcomes for greyhounds, and that it is not just another waste of taxpayers’ money by the NSW Government.